Woman injured in Tsawwassen Mills crash dies in hospital

One of the people injured in the crash outside Tsawwassen Mills Shopping Centre on Truth and Reconciliation Day has died in hospital. Delta police said Wednesday that 64-year-old South Delta resident Gwenyth Brigit Dwyn was one of two people who remained in hospital after the Sept. 30 collision. Another person initially taken to hospital has since been released and is recovering at home, police said.

Police previously confirmed that two First Nations elders were killed in the crash. Virginia Splockton was described as a beloved great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, friend and elder whose presence touched countless lives. The other victim was identified as wilapiya (Barb Joe). A tribute post called Barb Joe a cultural pillar, knowledge keeper and matriarch of Tsawwassen First Nation.

Police said preliminary information indicated that at about 10:25 a.m. on Sept. 30, the driver of a vehicle may have experienced a medical emergency and struck four pedestrians outside the mall. Investigators have completed extensive scene and collision analysis and are continuing to examine all available evidence to determine exactly what happened.

Police added that investigators have not reached any final conclusions, but the vehicle involved in the fatal crash was also involved in an earlier collision. Whether the driver experienced a medical event before the collisions remains under investigation. Based on the evidence reviewed to date, investigators have not identified evidence indicating that the collision was targeted or ideologically motivated.

Delta police media relations officer Staff Sgt. Mike Whiteley said police understand the community has questions and wants answers about what happened. He said their responsibility is to ensure those answers are based on a complete and objective examination of the evidence. Investigators are working through a significant amount of information, he said, and should not reach conclusions before that work is complete.

Police are asking anyone who has not already spoken with investigators and who witnessed the incident or saw the involved vehicle on the Tsawwassen Mills property before the collision to contact the Delta Police Department at 604-946-4411 and reference file 26-18401.