Taxi driver killed in Vancouver crash; police say alcohol and speed were factors

VANCOUVER – Police say they believe alcohol and speed were factors in a collision that killed a cab driver in Vancouver's east end early Sunday morning.

Investigators say it appears a car2go smart car may have T-boned a Yellow Cab carrying two passengers after running a red light at 3:30 a.m.

They say the 28-year-old male taxi driver was pronounced dead in hospital, while the driver of the other vehicle, a man in his 20s, remains in hospital with serious injuries.

The two passengers in the taxi were also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

British Columbia's police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has also been notified, as police believe the driver of the car2go may have evaded officers at an impaired-driving roadblock prior to the crash.

Police are asking anyone who saw the vehicles prior to the crash or witnessed the collision at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street to call them.

They say this is Vancouver's 14th traffic-related fatality of 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2019.