Const. Nicole Braithwaite of the West Vancouver Police Department said at a press conference Monday that the scene of the incident in the 400-block of Keith Road was “chaotic.” He says two women in their 60s were pronounced dead at the scene and seven people were taken to hospital, two in critical condition. On Saturday, BC Emergency Health Services reported 10 people were taken to hospital. Police did not give a reason for the discrepancy in numbers, but the health service later said there was a “reporting error” and confirmed nine people were taken to hospital. Among those taken to hospital is the driver of the 2016 Range Rover that hit the party. Braithwaite says the driver, who is also in her 60s, was leaving her home via a shared driveway with the property where the wedding party was taking place around 6:10 p.m. PT when the accident occurred.
“An absolute tragedy”
Cpl. Dave Noon of the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service says officers will seek a warrant for the SUV’s “black box” data recorder as they try to determine what happened and whether charges will be filed. “We still don’t have the answers to what happened,” Nunn said at the news conference, although speed and a possible medical issue are both being looked into. Nunn said investigators were helping West Vancouver police compile a “comprehensive report that can be provided to the Crown.” He said he has attended hundreds of deadly collisions in his eight years on the job – all tragic – but it was the first time his unit had been called to a wedding. Braithwaite said the crash was “an absolute tragedy” and happened “on what should have been the happiest day of anyone’s life”. “This is a difficult time for the families of the victims, the witnesses who were present, the driver involved and all the emergency services who attended this event,” Braithwaite said.
