Driver went off road toward B.C.'s Fraser River with kids in car, police say

A car is seen on a Fraser River embankment in Delta, B.C., on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Handout)

Authorities are investigating after a driver allegedly went off the road and toward B.C.’s Fraser River with two young children in the car Friday morning.

Investigators are treating the incident as a “criminal matter,” the Delta Police Department said in a news release.

“The children have been transported to hospital for observation, with no apparent injuries noted,” the department added. “The driver has been transported to hospital and is receiving medical care.”

Authorities said the person behind the wheel was a female, but did not specify whether she is an adult or youth, or provide any information on her relationship to the children.

The collision happened along River Road in Delta around 9:40 a.m. Police said they initially received a report that a car had been “intentionally” driven into the Fraser.

Officers arrived to find the vehicle stuck in the foreshore of the river, but not in the water. Firefighters and good Samaritans were already tending to the occupants at the scene.

“We thank the public and the Delta firefighters for their actions at the onset of this incident,” the police department said, in its news release.

Authorities said the area was “busy with commuters’ at the time of the incident, and asked anyone who may have witnessed the collision to come forward.

Police are also looking for any surveillance or dash-cam video that could assist in their investigation.