Police tight-lipped about West Vancouver crash that killed 2, injured 3; some victims still not identified

West Vancouver police aren’t revealing many details about a two-vehicle crash on Highway 1 just before midnight Wednesday night that left two people dead and sent three others to hospital.

“From what we have determined, the primary cause of this collision is we have a vehicle travelling the wrong way on the highway. The circumstances that led up to that continue to be under investigation,” said Sgt. Chris Bigland, who added the collision happened near the Westport exit.

“Because we have not identified all of the parties that are affected and have not notified their families, we are not sharing any details about the collision.”

Police won’t say which vehicles the deceased and injured victims were travelling in, or where the wrong-way vehicle may have entered the highway, only that it was travelling east in the westbound lanes and there were no calls to 911 before the crash.

“Because of the significance of this event, we want to be absolutely certain that when we release what we believe to be a clear picture of the pre-collision events that they are accurate and we have released that information affording all dignity to those affected by this collision,” said Bigland.

It’s not the first catastrophic head-on collision on that part of Highway 1. In September 2022, six people were injured — two of them critically — when a camper van travelling the wrong way caused a multi-vehicle, chain-reaction crash. A 29-year-old woman is facing five charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in that case.

“Road design is designed with a purpose to prevent these types of events from occurring. The images that are being circulated clearly indicate how traumatic and catastrophic two vehicles travelling in opposite directions can (be),” said Bigland.

Police don’t believe alcohol was a factor in the deadly crash Wednesday night. They are appealing for witnesses and dash cam video to help collision investigators determine why it happened.