Two dead, 16-year-old driver arrested for impaired driving, in B.C. wrong-way crash

NANAIMO — Police say a 16-year-old girl has been arrested for impaired driving after a wrong-way head-on crash that killed two people on a divided Vancouver Island highway.

BC Highway Patrol says the Kia minivan she was driving and a Volkswagen Jetta collided along Highway 19 outside Lantzville, B.C., just after 3 a.m. on Thursday.

The two men in the Volkswagen died at the scene, while the girl was taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Police say the girl, who is from nearby Nanaimo, has been arrested for impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.

Sgt. Michael McLaughlin says witnesses have indicated the minivan was driving north in the southbound lanes at the time of the crash near Ware Road.

He says investigators are looking for additional witnesses and dash-camera footage, including any footage of the minivan driving between Third Street and Pine Street in Nanaimo, where it was spotted four hours before the crash.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.