Two Uber passengers die in Highway 1 crash involving suspected impaired driver

A wrong-way collision on Highway 1 in Burnaby early Wednesday killed two Uber passengers and seriously injured the driver of the sedan they were travelling in, according to Burnaby RCMP.

Drive BC said the crash occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. and closed all westbound lanes between Kensington Avenue and Sprott Street, causing major backups and delays. Police said they received a report shortly before 12:15 a.m. that a pickup truck travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes had collided with a westbound four-door sedan.

The two passengers who died at the scene were a 34-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man from Surrey. The sedan driver was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Police identified the Uber driver as a 50-year-old man.

The pickup driver, a 32-year-old Surrey man, was arrested and taken to the Burnaby detachment for investigation before being released, police said. Burnaby RCMP’s Criminal Collision Investigation Team and the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service are investigating. Police said the investigation is in its early stages and alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor.

All lanes reopened early in the afternoon. Investigators are asking witnesses or anyone with video recorded in either direction on Highway 1 between 1st Avenue and Gaglardi Way from 12 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to contact BC Highway Patrol at 604-526-9744 and quote file 2026-3201.