VANCOUVER -- Dec. 30 update: Police watchdog investigating fatal crash
A 28-year-old cab driver has died and three other people are in hospital after an early morning collision between a taxi and a car2go in East Vancouver.
Vancouver police believe both speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, and say it appears the driver of the car2go car may have T-boned the taxi after running a red light at 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street.
The cab driver has been identified as Vancouver resident Sanehpal Randhawa.
"He's been working with us since about 2015," Kulwant Sahota, the president of Yellow Cab, told CTV News Vancouver. "He's an excellent driver, never had an issue."
Sahota said the young man had recently taken time off to spend with his father, who was visiting from India.
"We're so sad," Sahota said. "I've had drivers … calling me all morning. We're grieving."
Sahota said he’s been working for Yellow Cab for 25 years, but this is the first driver fatality he’s aware of in that time.
Police say the two-passenger car2go Smart car collided with the taxi and sent the Yellow Cab vehicle into a Royal Bank with such force that the building has been damaged.
The driver of the car2go is a man in his 20s who was seriously injured in the crash and is now in hospital. Two passengers riding in the taxi at the time of the crash were also sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Randhawa was taken to hospital immediately after the crash, but was pronounced dead.
"It's very sad, it's senseless and it didn't need to happen," said Sgt. Steve Addison, a spokesperson with the Vancouver Police Department.
"Here we are in the week between Christmas and New Year's. This young man was trying to earn a living, driving a cab, doing his bit and this didn’t have to happen."
The VPD has also notified the Independent Investigations Office, because police believe the driver of the car2go may have evaded officers at a CounterAttack roadblock before the collision. The IIO is a police oversight agency that investigates incidents of death or serious harm that may have been the result of the actions – or inactions – ofpolice officers.
Police are in the early stages of their investigation. Addison said police are appealing to anyone who witnessed the crash, the cars driving before the crash, or anyone who has dash cam or surveillance footage to get in touch with police at 604-717-3012.
In a statement, the company that operates car2go said it has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drivers using alcohol or other substances.
"We will actively assist local law enforcement in Vancouver as they move forward with their investigation," said Tiffany Young, a spokesperson for SHARE Canada. "If any customer is found to have been driving one of our vehicles under the influence, that customer will be permanently banned from our service."
According to the province's auto insurer, Christmas and New Year's are the deadliest times of the year for vehicle collisions. Every year at this time, an average of 530 people are injured and two people are killed in 2,000 crashes in British Columbia, according to statistics collected by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
ICBC is asking drivers to slow down, make sure their vehicles are equipped with winter tires, avoid distractions and not drive after drinking.
