With 2018 drawing to a close and the new year just around the corner, the Richmond News took a look at the headlines that captivated the most readers over the past year.
Here are the 10 most-read stories of 2018:
10. Richmond librarian allegedly assaulted at homeless housing meeting
According to multiple eyewitness accounts, a librarian was assaulted at a public open house for temporary, modular housing in Richmond in late April.
Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dennis Hwang said "it was alleged a female had been assaulted by a male.”
The open house was for a controversial housing project announced earlier this year, meant to combat the growth of homelessness in Richmond which has increased by 84 per cent since 2014, according to the Metro Vancouver homeless count.
9. Elderly driver crashes into Richmond bank
Richmond drivers tend to be heavily criticized and it’s typically for instances such as this one. In May, an elderly driver smashed into a Richmond bank after appearing to lose control of his car.
The man, who appeared to be about 70 years old, rammed his silver Honda Civic into the RBC office on Ackroyd Road across from PriceSmart.
Two windows at the bank completely caved in after the collision, exposing a safe at the bank.
Neither the driver, who was displaying a “disabled” decal in his car, nor his female passenger appeared to be injured.
8. Porsche crashes into Richmond’s Thai House Restaurant
In yet another unfortunate driving incident, a Porsche SUV was pulled out of a Thai restaurant in one March afternoon with nary a noodle on it, according to eyewitnesses.
Fortunately, an employee at Thai House Restaurant said no one from the restaurant was injured in the accident.
Police later confirmed the accident was due to "driver error" and the driver, a woman in her 60s, was ticketed accordingly.
7. Chinese tech giant Huawei tells the News how CFO was arrested while changing flights at YVR
It was a story that made international headlines, as the News was one of the first to report that the chief financial officer for China’s global tech giant, Huawei Technologies, was arrested on Dec. 1 in Richmond and is facing extradition to the U.S.
Later, it was revealed that Wanzhou Meng was taken to Richmond Hospital after she suffered from hypertension.
Meng later faced a three-day bail hearing and was granted bail on Dec. 11. She will next appear in court on Feb. 6.
6. Mother dies giving birth at Richmond hospital
In a sudden, unexpected tragedy, a Richmond woman died during childbirth at Richmond Hospital last April, leaving behind a five-year-old son and a pair of new-born twin daughters.
Wei Liu, 37, suffered major bleeding during her labour. Both babies were successfully delivered, but Liu’s heart stopped after their birth, according to her family.
A fundraising campaign was later launched to support the family.
5. From Pakistan to Richmond, journey of Danny’s Screamers comes to a close
The closing of a beloved Richmond establishment struck a chord for many Richmondites this year.
Abbas ‘Danny’ Khataw’s special creation – the Danny’s Screamer – has become Richmond folklore since its inception in 2000 at Danny’s Market at the corner of Garden City and Francis roads. But in the summer, the Danny’s Screamer era came to an end.
In mid-June Danny’s Market closed so Khataw could spend more time with his three sons and one young daughter. He said he chose not to renew his usual five-year lease with the property’s owner. At age 51, he entered into semi-retirement by helping one son with a new construction business.
4. Shooting at Lansdowne Centre
A later addition to the News’ 2018 coverage, it was a shooting at Lansdowne Centre shortly before Christmas that gathered a significant amount of attention.
Police vehicles and ambulances descended on Lansdowne Centre after a morning shooting on Dec. 21.
BC Emergency Health Services spokesperson Shannon Miller said they received a call at 7:33 a.m., and paramedics arrived on scene by 7:44 a.m.
They found one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds, who was transported to hospital in serious condition.
3. Pedestrian struck at Lansdowne Centre
An elderly man was critically injured after being struck by an SUV in the Lansdowne Centre parking lot on Nov. 26, and a video of the incident surfaced on social media.
The News saw the video, decided to remove it from the story due to its graphic nature.
The video shows a woman driving an SUV approach a man standing on the pavement of the parking lot. She knocks him over while making a left turn, and comes to a stop with him underneath. According to RCMP, the driver and the pedestrian are related.
2. Richmond Votes: 2018 election results
It wasn’t quite the seismic city council shift caused by the Terra Nova furore of the 1990s, but the 2018 municipal election heralded a significant changing of the guard, nonetheless.
Out went veteran incumbents Derek Dang and Ken Johnston and in came the fresh faces of Steveston resident Kelly Greene and school teacher Michael Wolfe.
A technical glitch meant the final votes not being counted until the wee small hours of Sunday, but readers followed along, tracking the News’ results page and coverage all night.
1. Father of three dies at Richmond’s Extreme Air Park trampoline facility
The most-read story for the News in 2018 was a tragic one. On Jan. 20, a father of two young daughters died in what was been described by eyewitnesses as a horrific accident at Extreme Air Park, a Richmond trampoline facility.
According to witnesses, Jay Greenwood, a Victoria-based contractor, was jumping from an elevated trampoline into a foam pit and broke his neck.
His death prompted serious questions among eyewitnesses about safety at the facility and later resulted in two lawsuits being filed against the trampoline park.
