Two killed as car strikes pedestrians at Canada reconciliation event

Driver may have suffered medical emergency, Delta Police say

Two people were killed and two others were injured on September 30 when a car struck pedestrians during a community walk marking Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in British Columbia, the Delta Police Department said.

The Delta Police Department, which covers the area, said the collision occurred at around 10:25 local time (16:25 BST) in a parking lot on Tsawwassen First Nation land, south of Vancouver near the US-Canada border. Investigators were at the scene and had advised residents to avoid the area, police said.

Delta Police said the driver “may have been experiencing a medical emergency” before the collision and that there is no ongoing risk to public safety. They added that they do not believe the incident is related to Truth and Reconciliation day, a national holiday that honours victims and survivors of Canada’s residential schools, which sought to forcefully assimilate Indigenous children.

The two injured are receiving treatment in hospital, according to police. “Our thoughts are with the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic incident,” Delta Police said in a statement.

CBC News reporters at the scene said more than a dozen ambulances responded to the incident.

According to a social media post advertising the event last week, the Tsawwassen First Nation had planned a community walk followed by the unveiling of a house post in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The event was scheduled to run from 09:30 to 13:00 local time.

In an X post that now appears to have been deleted, Canada’s energy minister Tim Hodgson said he attended the walk and posted two images from the event. BBC News reported it was unclear whether Hodgson was still in attendance when the collision took place.

The Tsawwassen First Nation is home to 491 members, according to its website, with half living on Tsawwassen lands and others in nearby areas, including across the border in Bellingham, Washington.

Canada began observing its National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021, following news of the discovery of unmarked burial sites at former residential schools. The holiday coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous grassroots-led day of remembrance honouring children who were missing or died in residential schools.