Fatal Highway 1 crash in Burnaby involved group in Uber: police
Posted February 19, 2024 2:03 pm.
Last Updated February 20, 2024 12:00 pm.
We’re learning more about a deadly crash that shut a section of Highway 1 in Burnaby for several hours Sunday.
Four young women were reportedly in an Uber on their way home from an evening of celebration when the crash happened near the Sprott Street exit just before 4 a.m.
Corp. Melissa Jongema with the BC Highway Patrol says a white Tesla operating as an Uber pulled over near the exit so the driver could attend to one of the four passengers.
Jongema says a Chevrolet SUV then hit the Tesla from behind, killing one passenger on the spot and sending the three others to hospital — two in critical condition. The driver was also taken to hospital.
One passenger has since been released with non-life-threatening injuries, she adds, though no other details about the passengers were provided.
According to a GoFundMe set up by someone who identifies herself as the mother of one of the passengers, the four women were in their twenties.
Jennifer Miller, the mother, says the friends were out to celebrate one of their 21st birthdays and are now having to “learn a new reality.”
She says her daughter survived the crash.
“They will all have to live with the fact that one of them didn’t live that night, it will take some serious time and love,” the GoFundMe reads. “Please pray for the safe recovery of the other two that are fighting for their lives.”
A spokesperson for Uber says the company is working to get in touch with the driver and the person who ordered the ride.
“The details of this crash are heartbreaking. We offer our deepest sympathies to all those impacted and stand ready to support law enforcement however we can as they investigate,” the spokesperson stated.
The company adds it has a public safety team that’s available specifically to assist law enforcement with investigations.
Jongema says the crash is still under investigation but alcohol is not believed to have been a factor.
Anyone with information is asked to call the RCMP at 604-526-9744 and quote file #2024-56-52.
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-With files from Emma Crawford, Catherine Garrett and David Nadalini
