Husband and wife killed in Downtown Vancouver crash
Posted August 30, 2016 3:00 pm.
Last Updated August 30, 2016 3:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Police and the Coroners Service are trying to figure out if the driver in yesterday’s deadly crash in Downtown Vancouver was having a medical emergency.
At about 5:30 p.m., a white Lexus that had just come off the Granville Street Bridge lost control at Davie and Seymour Streets, jumped the curb and struck a tree and lamp post.
The pair died instantly. Police are confirming the 68-year-old driver and his 70-year-old passenger were husband and wife.
Vancouver Police Acting Sergeant Brian Montague says they’ve gathered witness accounts and surveillance footage, but adds there are still a lot of questions to be answered.
“I want to clarify again that while speed is going to be a factor here, why this individual was speeding is still unknown. If there was an underlying medical condition, if he was, for instance, having a heart attack or a stroke while he was driving — that may account for it.”
However, if medical tests show there was no medical issue, Montague adds they may never know why the driver was speeding.
The speed limit on the span is 60 km/h and it slows to 50 km/h once you come off and get into the downtown core.
“Our traffic enforcement officers are on the Granville Bridge on a regular basis. The Granville Bridge is a place in the City of Vancouver, among a couple of others that are problematic for speed. Off-hand, I can think of a handful of fatalities that occurred on or near the bridge in the last couple of years — many of them a result of speed. It’s a place that is a concern.”
Three pedestrians, all men in their 30s, were also hurt in the crash when they were hit by flying debris. Their injuries include a broken leg and punctured lung.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen anything leading up to the crash to call the VPD’s Collision Investigation Unit at 604.717.3012.
