Man dies after fleeing Vancouver police in Polaris Slingshot near Jack Poole Plaza

A man died Friday after crashing a three-wheeled vehicle while fleeing Vancouver police near Jack Poole Plaza. BC's Independent Investigations Office is now probing the incident.

Driver killed in crash after evading police on foot patrol in downtown Vancouver

A man is dead following a collision involving a three-wheeled vehicle near Jack Poole Plaza in downtown Vancouver on Friday afternoon, cp24.com reports. B.C.'s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), has been notified and has opened an investigation.

Vancouver Police Department officers were conducting a fraud investigation on foot in the 1000 block of Canada Place when they attempted to approach a male suspect seated in a vehicle. The man drove off before officers could speak with him. "Less than a block from the scene, the vehicle was involved in a collision and the driver died. No one else was injured," the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement issued Friday night.

Photos taken at the police-taped scene show a Polaris Slingshot — a roofless, three-wheeled hybrid of a sports car and motorcycle — lying on its side beside a damaged SUV.

Witness Shirin Shahbazi said she was approaching the Fairmont Hotel when two officers stepped in front of her car, blocking access to Canada Place. Moments later, the Slingshot sped past. "He tried to flee from the cops, and then he got stuck … it happened very, very quick," she said. Shahbazi described the driver attempting to pass between two vehicles before becoming wedged. "The car flipped over completely, and the guy passed out. It was so loud, everyone was screaming. It was a really bad scene."

B.C. Emergency Health Services said it dispatched ambulances and paramedics to the scene at 3:18 p.m., transporting one patient to hospital in critical condition. The IIO subsequently confirmed the driver had been pronounced dead after arriving at hospital.

The IIO is now working to determine whether a connection exists between police action or inaction and the man's death. Should such a connection be established, the office will continue its investigation to assess whether any officers involved may have committed an offence. The IIO conducts its investigations regardless of whether wrongdoing by police is alleged.

CTV News reported it had reached out to Vancity Slingshot, a rental company whose branding was visible on the side of the vehicle, for comment on the incident.

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)