Pedestrian hit in Vancouver dies of her injuries

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A woman who was hit by a vehicle in East Vancouver last Friday has died from her injuries.

Police say the 53-year-old woman was struck by a BMW SUV while walking with her husband in a marked crosswalk along 41st Avenue at Commercial Street around 1:30 a.m. on January 18.

“These people did follow the rules of the road,” Constable Jason Doucette tells NEWS 1130. “They approached this pedestrian-controlled intersection, they got to the light — it was a flashing green, they hit the button, they waited for it to turn red. So now vehicle traffic had a red light.”

The pair is said to have noticed a vehicle speeding towards them, and not slowing down, while they were crossing. The woman was hit and police say she was thrown about a half of a block.

The husband was not physically hurt.

“The driver didn’t make any attempt to stop,” Doucette says. “Unfortunately, this woman who was struck, she was rushed to hospital and she died in hospital the next day.”

Investigators are still processing evidence — including video — and say they are looking to identify the driver of the 2000 to 2006 model BMW X5.

Last week, police said there was “no doubt” the driver was aware that they had hit someone. Investigators say the vehicle had obvious front-end damage, as well as a missing grill.

“The only thing that anyone did wrong here is the driver didn’t slow down, didn’t obey the rules of the road, didn’t stop for a red light and it cost somebody their life,” Doucette adds.

When it comes to possible charges, he says officers will look at the available evidence.

“We want to hold the person accountable, and we’ll work with Crown Counsel to make sure that the appropriate charges are laid,” he said. “But certainly when somebody dies, it does ramp things up a little bit.”

Police are hoping to get their hands on some additional video evidence that could maybe fill in the gaps, as well as narrow down a vehicle description.

“We actually have a variety of video — there’s some houses in the area with video, there’s taxis that are commonly out that late, buses, so we’re looking at all opportunities.”

If you have any information about this incident or dashcam footage, you’re asked to call Vancouver Police at 604.717.3012. You can also reach out to Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477 if you’d like to remain anonymous.

This is the first pedestrian fatality of the year in Vancouver.

-With files from Sonia Aslam

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