Police believe alcohol may have been a factor in a serious crash late Monday night that killed a pedestrian in Coquitlam.
Investigators are looking for anyone who may have witnessed the accident, which occurred just before 10 p.m. at Como Lake Avenue and Robinson Street.
Investigators believe a Nissan Altima was heading west along Como Lake when the driver lost control and the vehicle went up on to the curb, knocking down a lamp pole. The car finally came to a stop at an empty lot on the north side of the road.
A 53-year-old man was hit in the collision and succumbed to his injuries. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.
The driver of the Altima stayed at the scene and Mounties are putting together an evidence package to send to Crown, which will consider charges.
"We were able to talk to the driver," said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung. "As a result of that, we expect that alcohol may have been a contributing factor. Combining that with the bad weather, it is not a good combination. It was raining very hard."
Chung said drivers need to be aware of the road conditions as the season gets darker and rainier. It is also important to call a cab or take advantage of a safe ride service anytime someone has been drinking, he added.
"There have been quite a few of these incidents," Chung said. "It's a combination of weather and distracted driving, and if you add alcohol on top of all that, it is a really bad mix."
Anyone who saw the collision is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP Traffic Services team at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2014-35136.
The collision in Coquitlam was not the only one to occur in Metro Vancouver Monday night. In Richmond, a 75-year-old woman was fatally struck while trying to cross Westminster Highway at around 10 p.m., the same time of the collision in the Tri-Cities.
The crashes came one week after the BC Coroners Service issued a public warning about road safety to all motorists and pedestrians, especially seniors. Between mid-November and early-December, 11 seniors ranging in age from 73 to 87 were struck and killed by vehicles. Two died in Vancouver and the others were killed in New Westminster, Kelowna and Oliver.
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- with files from CTV News
