Former Vipers Captain Kevin Kraus Involved In Truck Accident:

Former Vernon Vipers captain Kevin Kraus is fortunate to be alive today after falling asleep while driving on Wednesday night.  Kraus is in his second season with the KIJHL Revelstoke Grizzlies.  Kraus joined the Grizzlies last season as Assistant Coach before being named the clubs Head Coach-GM this season.  Kraus played parts of three seasons in Vernon (2007-2010) after signing with the Vipers during the 2007-08 season after playing in the WHL.  In 129 regular season games with the Vipers Kraus collected (6-44-50).  Kraus was captain of the 2009-10 Viper team that won the 2010 Royal Bank Cup.

Kevin Kraus's Player Profile:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=96669

This is posted on Gregg Drinnan's Blog:

Friday, October 5, 2012
Former WHL D Kevin Kraus (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2006-08) is fortunate to be alive today.

Kraus, a 23-year-old from Garden Grove, Calif., fell asleep while driving on Wednesday night and ended up in the ditch, his truck wrecked. He was on the Trans-Canada Highway, just outside of Sicamous, which is 73km west of Revelstoke.

Kraus now is the general manager and head coach of the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies, who play in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.

Here’s what he wrote Thursday morning on Facebook: “Fell asleep at the wheel last night and totaled my truck... very lucky to be able to walk away from it and be alive right now, very thankful for the people who helped me last night. Life changing experience.”

On Thursday night, I asked him how he managed to survive.

“I have no idea . . . must be destined to do something!” he told me. “Very lucky and blessed to be alive right now and walk away with no injuries.”

As he dozed off behind the wheel, he said, “I went over a barrier and flipped and landed in between trees.”

If you are at all familiar with the terrain off the Trans-Canada Highway in that neck of the woods, you know just what a disaster this could have been.

The Grizzlies (4-2-0-1) return to action tonight in Armstrong, B.C., against the North Okanagan Knights.