An investigation is underway after a woman died and a man suffered life-threatening injuries in a head-on crash in North Vancouver last night.
The two-car collision, which police believe involved a drunk driver, happened just before midnight Tuesday (March 2) at Low Level Road, west of the Neptune Cargill Overpass.
Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for North Vancouver RCMP, said officers received a call just after 11 p.m. from BC Emergency Health Services alerting them to the crash.
He said RCMP officers arrived to what appeared to be a head-on collision and North Vancouver City Fire Department were on scene extinguishing a fire that had started up in one of the vehicles.
A woman and a man were travelling together eastbound in one vehicle when a westbound vehicle, an Audi, driven by a man, appears to have crossed the centre line, according to DeVries. He said the details of how the crash occurred were still being determined.
“Unfortunately, the female died as a result of the collision and she was initially brought to a local hospital [Lions Gate Hospital], but she was soon after pronounced dead,” he said. “The male occupant in the same vehicle was brought to VGH for serious injuries and remains in critical condition. We're not sure at this point whether or not the person will survive.”
DeVries said the male who was driving the Audi was taken to LGH with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
He said the driver of the Audi is now being investigated for dangerous driving and refusal to provide a breath sample.
“It looks like this is going to be an impaired driving investigation,” DeVries said. “We do believe alcohol was involved, but we're still in the very early stages of the investigation.
"As the investigation continues, officers will work to uncover all available evidence pointing to the cause of this collision."
DeVries said it had been "a very sad morning."
"We know that this woman’s family and friends are grieving today, that in the coming days and weeks, they will be faced with the difficult task of coping with a tragic loss," he said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with them."
Low Level Road was closed this morning (March 3) between East 3rd Street and St. Andrews Avenue due to the police investigation, but has since reopened.
On Wednesday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise money for the woman's family.
