Police say an out-of-control vehicle on Lougheed Highway that struck a pedestrian at Laity Street on Thursday, April 27, was travelling in the wrong lane.
Ridge Meadows RCMP said they were called to the crash at around 10:40 a.m. after receiving a report in which a vehicle travelling east, in a westbound lane on Lougheed Highway, at a high rate of speed, hit a curb before hitting a second vehicle and then the pedestrian.
Police confirmed two people were taken to hospital, with the pedestrian later succumbing to his injuries and passing away on Friday.
An eyewitness was westbound on the highway, and saw the car coming straight toward him. He avoided the collision, but saw the out-of-control vehicle strike a truck at Benz Transmission, and a pedestrian who was waiting to cross the street. He speculated the driver had a medical emergency.
Road closure at Lougheed Highway and Laity Street due to a motor vehicle incident. Please plan an alternate route accordingly.
— Ridge Meadows RCMP (@RidgeRCMP) April 27, 2023
“I could see him coming at me full speed,” said John Mckenzie. “It looked like he was frozen at his wheel.”
Two vehicles at the scene were flipped onto their sides, and it appears the vehicle broke through cement barricades.
He said the pedestrian, an older man, appeared to have been critically injured.
Mckenzie has first aid training, and he did his best to render assistance to the injured pedestrian, who was unconscious. Firefighters extricated the driver from the car.
He said first responders arrived quickly to the scene.
Both the driver and the pedestrian, he noted, were taken to hospital by ambulance.
“My heart goes out to their families,” said Mckenzie, a Maple Ridge resident, who was badly shaken by the incident.
Sgt. Amanda Harnett with the Ridge Meadows RCMP detachment, said Ridge Meadows RCMP and the Road Safety Target Team, (RSTT), were first to arrive on the scene and police performed life-saving measures on the pedestrian.
Maple Ridge Fire Department, (MRFD), and BC Emergency Health Services, (BCEHS), also attended the scene, she said, and took over life-preserving measures before transporting the pedestrian to hospital.
Harnett also noted that the Serious Crimes Unit, (SCU), and Integrated Collison Analysis and Reconstruction Service, (ICARS), were on scene. The road safety team will be investigating all potential causes of the motor vehicle incident, she explained.
“This is currently an active and ongoing investigation and no further information is available at this time,” added Harnett.
Police are advising anyone who saw the scene, who have been affected in any way, to contact the Ridge Meadows Victim Services program at 604-467-7650.
They are also still seeking witnesses, video surveillance or dash cam footage from the area at the time of the crash. Anyone with information for police are being asked to contact the Ridge Meadows RCMP directly at 604-463-6251.
Have a story tip? Email: ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com
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