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Shortly after 5 am on Saturday, Sunshine Coast emergency personnel responded to the 6100 block of the Sunshine Coast Hwy, after a car crashed into a large tree. When police arrived on scene, the driver and three passengers had managed to get themselves out of the car, but the fourth passenger needed to be extricated by members of the Sechelt Fire Department. Paramedics responded and transported the driver and three passengers to St Mary’s Hospital with minor injuries. The fourth passenger was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital, but died later in the morning.
“The girl who died was from Sechelt, and was only 18 years old” said Cst Harrison Mohr with Sunshine Coast RCMP. “It is a sad day for Sechelt, and our thoughts go out to the girl’s family.”
The car had been southbound on the highway, when it veered off road to the right, travelled part ways down an embankment, and collided with a large tree. No other vehicles were involved. The three other passengers were women aged 17 to 19 years old. Two were from Sechelt, and one was from North Vancouver. The driver was a 19 year old man from Vancouver, who had a class 7 “novice” licence, limiting him to one passenger.
“We can confirm that alcohol was not a factor in this collision, and we are still investigating what caused the car to leave the highway. We will certainly be looking at why the driver had more passengers than he was allowed to be carrying, and whether that played a role in the collision” said Cst Mohr.
The driver has not been charged with any offences at this time, however the investigation is continuing. Police remind young drivers that the restrictions placed on their licence are there for a reason –to keep them safe – and that drivers caught disregarding those restrictions will face penalties ranging from violation tickets to having their licence suspended.
Sunshine Coast RCMP Report
