A vehicle collision outside Tsawwassen Mills kills two people and injures two others

Two people were killed and two others injured when a vehicle struck pedestrians in the parking lot of Tsawwassen Mills shortly before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Delta police suspect the driver suffered a “medical emergency.” The collision happened during a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation walk, but the Delta Police Department said it was unrelated to the event. Police said the investigation is in its early stages as officers work to determine what happened. They said there is no ongoing risk to public safety and asked anyone with information or video from around the time of the collision to come forward.

Witness Rafael Saenz told CTV News he did not see the collision, but saw several people on the ground immediately afterward. He said he was about 10 feet away and found the scene traumatizing, adding that he had never seen anything like it. Saenz said more than a dozen emergency vehicles and several helicopters were at the scene while paramedics performed CPR on some of the victims. He also saw people crying beside them.

B.C. Emergency Health Services said it received a call shortly after 10:30 a.m. and sent 12 ground ambulances and two air ambulances. Tsawwassen First Nation, which was hosting a community walk that morning, issued an emergency alert saying the incident had ended its Truth and Reconciliation event. Participants were told to walk back the way they had come and stay away from the area. The walk began at 9:30 a.m. at the First Nation’s recreation centre, a short distance from the Tsawwassen Mills parking lot. A Facebook post earlier in the week invited people to a special House Post Unveiling after the walk, scheduled for 10:15 a.m. at Tsawwassen Mills Entrance 3. Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was among those attending, according to a social media post that was later deleted.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared to suggest the people who died were Tsawwassen First Nation elders. The First Nation did not identify them in its own statements. Carney called their deaths devastating and said his thoughts were with the loved ones of those who died, the injured, and a community in grief and shock.

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby addressed the tragedy at a Truth and Reconciliation event in Kamloops on Wednesday. He called the news from Tsawwassen difficult and sent his support to the people of Tsawwassen and Tsawwassen First Nation, recognizing their work to support the community after the tragedy. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Tsawwassen First Nation thanked the Delta Police Department, emergency responders and community members who helped during the incident.