Refugee with full ride UBC scholarship killed in Burnaby crash
Tributes are pouring in for two teens who lost their lives when a vehicle fleeing police collided with them.
Authorities have not officially released the names of the victims, but friends have identified one of the victims as 18-year-old Samir Ali.
Friends said Ali was driving his friend home from playing soccer Tuesday night when the fatal crash occurred at 10th Avenue and 6th Street in Burnaby.
“The world deserves to know his story,” said Mania Namatifar, who knew Ali through his involvement in youth groups.
Ali had just won this year’s Vistara Elevate Award, earning him a full ride scholarship to UBC to pursue computer science in the fall.
He is a refugee from Kenya and arrived in Canada five years ago.
Namatifar said Ali lived in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood, volunteering to help those in the Downtown Eastside.
“He was a very strong religious boy that believed in the oneness of humanity. He served his community in Downtown Eastside, regardless of who was in the community,” she said.
Ali was the eldest of eight siblings, and Namatifar said his mother is in agony.
“They didn't just lose a son; he was their support system, he was their everything,” she said.
A GoFundMe campaign has now been launched to help the family.
IIO INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE POLICE CHASE
Prior to the crash, Metro Vancouver Transit Police tried to pull over a white sedan. They didn’t specify where or why they were initiating a traffic stop.
They said a few blocks later, the crash occurred.
A witness described seeing the white sedan driving quickly and ignoring the traffic lights.
“In a flash, a white car whizzed past me,” said Samuel Webb. “I’d say he was going like 150 km/h and I didn't see him apply his brake or anything and just went straight through the light.”
He said Ali and his friend were just going through the intersection at that time.
He got out of his vehicle and tried to save the two teens.
“It was a terrible, horrific thing. I just wish I could have done more to get them out of there and make them be OK right now because they were gone way too soon,” he said.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C., the province’s police watchdog, is now looking into whether a possible police chase resulted in the fatal crash.
When Webb was on scene, he did notice officers arriving quickly.
“I would say it was 30 seconds from the crash and from when I was at the driver's side door. And at that point, there was a police vehicle in the middle of the street, so I would assume that they were close by when it happened,” he said.
Anyone with dash cam video of the crash is asked to contact MVTP.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.