5 dead, 2 injured in weekend crashes across B.C.'s South Coast
It was a deadly weekend on the roads of B.C.'s South Coast, with crashes in Chilliwack, Surrey and Whistler causing five fatalities — including a child — and sending another two people to hospital.
The trio of accidents all occurred in the dark between Saturday evening and early Sunday.
The first happened on Chilliwack Lake Road near Vedder Road around 7 p.m. PT when police received reports that a vehicle "had become airborne before crashing roadside," according to Chilliwack RCMP.
Mounties said efforts to save the life of the driver, the only person in the vehicle, were not successful.
Authorities have not disclosed if the victim was male or female.
Driver flees scene of Surrey crash
The second fatal crash occurred at the intersection of 128 Street and 82 Avenue in the Newton area of Surrey.
The collision, between a Toyota Corolla and white Ford Mustang, happened just before 9:30 p.m.
The adult male passenger of the Corolla was taken to the hospital where he later died, Mounties said. The male driver of the Mustang was taken to hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Police say the driver of the Corolla fled the scene on foot. He is described as a South Asian male in his 20s wearing a grey hoodie and jeans.
Investigators have not yet ruled out alcohol or speed as factors in the crash.
2 adults, child dead
The third crash happened on Highway 99, near Daisy Lake Dam south of Whistler, around 12:30 a.m Sunday.
Sea to Sky RCMP said a northbound vehicle veered off the road and hit a tree.
Two adults and a child died at the scene, police said.
B.C. Emergency Health Services said it sent six ambulances to the scene, and one woman was taken to hospital in stable condition.
In a statement Insp. Robert Dykstra, the officer in charge of the Squamish-based Sea to Sky RCMP detachment offered his sympathies to the loved ones of the victims.
He also thanked paramedics and other first responders for their efforts and assistance.
Dykstra said a full investigation is underway and there's no indication yet what caused the vehicle to swerve into the tree, but criminality is not expected.
"I would like to take this opportunity as a general reminder to everyone, with winter weather conditions starting to emerge and the volumes of traffic through the Sea-to-Sky corridor increasing, it is imperative that drivers take extra care and pay closer attention to their driving,'' said the statement.
Investigators involved with the two earlier crashes have not indicated if winter conditions or fog, which has made for poor visibility in the region for two days, were factors.
Also over the weekend, a person was injured and taken to hospital after crashing the tractor on a Highway 1 ramp in Surrey, said Mounties.
