A New Westminster resident was killed after being hit by a bus after getting out of their vehicle.
The New Westminster Police Department is in the early stages of investigating a fatal motor vehicle incident that occurred in the 300 block of East Eighth Avenue around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The NWPD reports that officers were called to Eighth Avenue, between Cherry and Richmond streets, after receiving a report of an unresponsive person, who had been fatally injured by a transit bus.
“This is a tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family of this individual,” NWPD spokesperson Sgt. Justine Thom said in a news release. “We have a large team of investigators working together to determine how this happened, but we are still in the early stages at this point.”
Investigators from the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, New Westminster Police Department’s Victim Assistance Unit, Metro Vancouver Transit Police and the BC Coroners Service, attended the scene. Traffic on Eighth Avenue was shut down in both directions while police investigated the crash.
In the days following the death, the New Westminster Police Department released additional information, stating the person had been struck by a transit bus after exiting their own vehicle.
“We were just wanting to provide some additional context to the group, as this incident prompted a larger discussion surrounding pedestrian safety,” said Hailey Finnigan, the NWPD’s strategic communications coordinator. “While pedestrian safety is an important topic of discussion, at the time of the incident this person was not using a sidewalk or a crosswalk and had just exited their vehicle before being struck by the driver of the transit bus.”
According to the New Westminster Police Department, the investigation could take months to complete.
“It’s being led by the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service,” Finnigan said in an email to the Record. “This is a highly specialized team that attended the scene, collected evidence, and will be conducting an in-depth analysis to determine what exactly occurred.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the New Westminster Police Department at 604-525-5411.
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