A cyclist is dead and two more are in serious condition after they were hit by a car in east Richmond on Sunday morning.
The accident happened around 10 a.m. in the 23000 block of River Road where it meets Westminster Highway.
According to Richmond RCMP, the three cyclists, who were travelling eastbound as part of a six-strong group, were hit head-on by a 2013 Lexus travelling in the opposite direction.
As a result of the collision, Brad Dean, 33, from Vancouver, was pronounced dead at the scene and two more victims, also from Vancouver, are in hospital in critical and serious condition respectively.
TheRichmond News understands that one of them is in a medically-induced coma, while the other sustained a broken pelvis.
The other three cyclists have minor injuries and were not been taken to hospital. It is believed that the group were travelling in a single file at the time of the collision.
All six of the cyclists were male and part of a group called Just Giver 4 PD Cycling Club, which helps to raise awareness for Parkinson's disease.
A tribute posted on the cycling club’s Facebook page by its Richmondite director, Kelly Jablonski, told how Dean, originally from White Rock, was a “…a friend, a brother, a son, a grandson, a husband and most of all, an amazing individual that meant many things to many different people.”
The driver, a 19-year-old male from Burnaby, remained at the scene and was cooperative with police. He did not sustain any injuries.
The Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit (RSU) has taken the lead in this investigation and is being assisted by the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (ICARS), the BC Coroner’s Service and the Richmond RCMP Victim Service’s Unit.
“This was a very difficult collision scene for our officers to investigate,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
“To put it into some perspective, the carbon fiber frame and forks on one of the bikes was snapped in multiple places like twigs or matchsticks.
“It is too early to tell what contributed to this terrible crash. The cyclists did appear to be wearing their helmets. This is the second fatality in Richmond within the last week.”
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Const. Purghart, of the Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit, at 604-278-1212, by email at Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.caor anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
