Community rallies around Squamish child struck, killed in parking lot
Credit to Author: Lynn Mitges| Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 17:18:45 +0000
A community is pulling together after a two-year-old child was struck and killed in a Squamish parking lot Friday night.
According to Squamish RCMP, the accident occurred at about 6 p.m. in a parking lot in front of a grocery store at 1900 Garibaldi Way. A woman and a child were both hit.
Paramedics attended the scene and both victims were transported to hospital.
The driver of the vehicle remained on scene and is co-operating with the investigation.
“We are at the beginning stages of putting together all the details to give an accurate picture of exactly what happened tonight,” said Sgt. Sascha Banks.
“Anyone who was there and witnessed the incident prior to the event, during the event, or after the collision are asked to come forward to the RCMP if they have not already done so.
“We are a tight-knit community and our thoughts are first and foremost with the family as well as those who were on scene, responded, and helped in any way they could.”
Glenn Davies, lead pastor at The Rock Church, identified the woman and child as being members of the Squamish church’s family.
“Dear friends, a young family who are a part of our church family at The Rock, tragically lost their two-year daughter in an accident outside Independent Grocer last night,” Davies wrote in a Facebook post, sharing the link to a crowdfunding campaign for the family.
“I know the heart of this amazing community will want to support this family in their time of great need. Blessings!”
As of Sunday morning, the GoFundMe campaign had surpassed its updated goal of $10,000, with just over $21,500 collected. Organizers say the funds raised will “support the grieving family and cover the expenses of a funeral as well as lost wages.”
Squamish RCMP, Sea to Sky General Investigations Section, the Integrated Collision Analyst Reconstruction Service (ICARS), and the B.C. Coroner’s Service continue to investigate.
The parking lot on Garibaldi Way was closed for several hours late Friday but was re-opened early Saturday. The lot is adjoined to an Independent Grocer, a Chevron, and is marked with crosswalks. Reports say the woman and child were exiting the store and in a crosswalk when they were struck.
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com