FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/West Vancouver Police
August 22, 2022 - 2:30 PM
VANCOUVER - Police say the driver of an SUV that struck a wedding celebration in West Vancouver on Saturday, killing two people, remains in hospital as investigators look into whether speed or a medical incident was involved in the crash.
Const. Nicole Braithwaite of West Vancouver Police told a press conference today that the scene of the incident at the 400 block of Keith Road was “chaotic.”
She says two women in their 60s were pronounced dead at the scene, and seven people were taken to hospital, two in critical condition.
Those taken to hospital include the driver of the 2016 Range Rover that struck the celebration, although Braithwaite says her condition is not known.
Braithwaite says the driver, also in her 60s, was leaving her home via a driveway shared with the property where the wedding party was taking place around 6:10 p.m. when the crash happened.
Cpl. Dave Noon of the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service says officers will seek a warrant for the SUV's data recorder as they try to establish what happened and whether charges will be recommended.
"We don't have the answers yet as to what took place," Noon told the press conference, although speed and a possible medical issue were both being considered.
Noon said investigators were assisting West Vancouver Police to compile a “comprehensive report that may be provided to Crown."
Braithwaite said the crash was “an absolute tragedy and our entire community is affected by this."
"This is a difficult moment in time for the families of the victims, the witnesses who were present, the driver who was involved and all the emergency services who attended this event," Braithwaite said.
BC Emergency Health Services said 12 units, including 11 ground and one air ambulance, were dispatched to the scene.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2022.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2022