The driver in a hit-and-run that killed a 16-year-old girl in Port Coquitlam Tuesday stopped at the scene, looked at the victim then drove away, according to witnesses.
The Riverside Secondary School student was crossing the street with a friend at the intersection of Mary Hill and Pitt River roads when she was hit by a truck shortly before 4 p.m.
People at the scene said the driver, described as an older white man with greying hair, looked back at the teenager but chose to leave her dying in the street.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the truck driver is fully aware of what he’s done,” Cpl. Jamie Chung told CTV News.
The girl was rushed to hospital but died of her injuries the next day.
A school letter to parents identified the deceased as Annie Leung. She was a Grade 10 student living with her family from Hong Kong.
The tragedy has sparked sadness and outrage in the community.
“I don’t know how any human being can just get out of his car, looking at someone lying on the ground and just take off,” area resident Heather Gifford said.
Mounties are still searching for the driver and a suspect vehicle described as a black truck, possibly a Ford F-150 with a black canopy.
“We are urging the truck drive to come forward, to see us before we find him, to tell us his side of the story,” Chung said.
Anyone with information on the crash or the identity of the driver is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP Traffic Services at 604-945-1550, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 if they wish to remain anonymous.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Michele Brunoro
