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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.