The vehicle involved in a fatal accident that killed a B.C. grandmother who was praying in her driveway is now in the custody of the RCMP, but the driver hasn't been arrested.
Shihlin Chu, 88, was steps away from the front door of her family’s Coquitlam, B.C., home Thursday afternoon when she was struck and run over.
The driver of the silver vehicle drove away and investigators aren’t sure if the driver even knew they had struck someone before they pulled onto the road.
Chu was a devout Buddhist and often sat in the driveway to pray.
“She's pretty much the head of the family and we always talk to her for support and she's really a tough woman so it's kind of like we lost a part of ourself,” granddaughter Yves Chu told CTV News.
Family say the person behind the wheel was a patient at the acupuncture clinic that is run inside the home, and was leaving an appointment.
“I think the drivers weren't paying attention. I think that's what happened,” Yves Chu said.
Neighbour Trevor Stewart agrees, saying clients come and go often and may not have noticed the senior praying.
“It was probably a customer [who] hit a speed bump a couple of times and drove out like nothing happened,” said Stewart.
Stewart and his wife Angele Chaput ran onto the property and performed CPR on the injured senior before paramedics arrived. Originally listed in serious condition, the elderly woman died of her injuries within hours.
Chaput said the woman prayed outside every day and was known as the unofficial greeter of her son’s clinic.
“Once she knows her son is with a client, she will come out and pray and wait for the customer to leave and greet them goodbye,” she told CTV News.
“[This is] extremely tragic. She was a great lady. I feel bad for the son.”
The vehicle is now in the hands of RCMP, although it’s not known if the driver turned themselves in.
A spokesperson for the Coquitlam RCMP said investigators have spoken to a "person of interest" but no arrests have been made. Officers are hoping anyone with information about the incident will come forward.