A North Vancouver man is dead after being struck by a suspected drunk driver.
Police say the victim, a 31-year-old man, was crossing Lonsdale Avenue in the marked crosswalk at Fourth Street just before midnight on Thursday when the driver of a black Cadillac Escalade pickup heading north failed to stop.
“He was struck and thrown a short distance to the side of the road,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. “He had very serious injuries. He was rushed to Lions Gate where he died as a result of his injuries.”
There were several witnesses to the collision who stayed at the scene to give statements to police. The driver of the pickup, a 48-year-old North Vancouver resident, also stayed at the scene and was arrested. The RCMP called in its integrated collision analysis and reconstruction service for an impaired driving investigation and the suspect spent much of Friday being interviewed by police.
Witnesses who arrived shortly after described a “horrendous” scene.
“I could hear really hard acceleration and then a really loud thump,” said Warren Zieper, a nearby resident. “I thought it was two cars hitting each other.”
Following the collision, the suspect stood quietly for a time, while bystanders attempted CPR, Zieper said. Eventually the man crossed the street and sat at the bus stop where police arrested him.
“(The victim) had a lot of people around him trying to help him. That’s sort of where I take comfort. He wasn’t alone,” said Michele Matheson, Zieper’s partner. “Our friend was there trying to render first aid to this poor man, trying to get an airway established, trying to get him to breath. But he was in shock.”
De Jong couldn’t say where the suspect was coming from prior to the collision but police are checking for video surveillance in Lower Lonsdale that will help explain the moments leading up to the crash.
De Jong said it was likely the suspect would be kept in custody over the weekend with a request for charges being sent to the Crown soon after. “(The victim) does have family on the North Shore. They have been notified, of course. It’s very tragic. Very sad actually for the family involved.”
