The scene where a car crashed into a wedding reception killed at least two in West Vancouver, BC on August 21. Jimmy Jeong/The Globe and Mail
Cassie Palmer says she remembers admiring the guests in their tuxedos and dresses as they arrived Saturday afternoon for an outdoor wedding at her next-door neighbor’s home in West Vancouver, B.C. Hours later, Ms. Palmer he says he heard people screaming.
The retired nurse and her daughter, a college student, ran to the neighbor’s front yard where a vehicle had crashed into a gate and several people were bleeding on the ground.
“It was horrible,” Ms. Palmer said in a telephone interview Sunday. “There were a lot of people injured, from those who were unfortunately missing and those who were injured to those who were walking wounded.”
Police said two people were killed and 10 were injured after a driver sped through the front yard of a residence where a wedding was being held.
Mrs Palmer sprang into action, using towels and tablecloths as makeshift tourniquets to apply pressure to the wounds and help stop some of the bleeding before paramedics arrived.
“My daughter … has done her first aid courses, but nothing prepares you for seeing someone die in front of you,” he said. “This was not a random car accident where you don’t know the people involved, this was her family. … It was incredibly sad and I just feel for the girlfriend and her whole family.”
The BC Provincial Health Services Authority said 10 people were taken to hospital, with five believed to be in stable condition, three in serious condition and two in critical condition. Mrs Palmer added that among the injured was the owner of the house where the wedding was held.
West Vancouver police spokeswoman Constable Nicole Braithwaite said the crash happened around 6:10 p.m. Saturday when the driver of the vehicle was trying to pull out of his driveway, which is shared between two houses
“They sped off, hitting several people who were there for a wedding,” Constable Braithwaite said. “It was a very large call and we had approximately 10 ambulances arrive as well as an air ambulance and several West Vancouver fire trucks and services that responded. … As you can imagine, it was a very large scene.”
He added that it was too early to tell if charges would be laid, although he said police would have an update on Monday. The RCMP collision reconstruction team has taken over the investigation.
Ms Palmer said it was clear the woman driving the vehicle, who she described as “elderly”, had no malicious intent. He said the woman was unable to move or speak when she was pulled from her car, which neighbors have described as a white SUV.
Ursula Kummel, who lives down the road from where the wedding was held, said she ran to the house after hearing multiple sirens echoing throughout the neighborhood.
Ms Kummel said she saw three or four ambulances, several police cars, EMS cars, stretchers and paramedics, along with a medical helicopter that circled the house, which is on a private lane. Eventually, Ms. Kummel said, the air ambulance landed on the lawn of the house next to the scene.
“I’m perplexed,” Ms. Kummel said of the driver. “The speed the car must have been going. How is that possible?”
Mrs Palmer said her thoughts were with the family next door.
“I can’t imagine this is ever going to be a day they can manage because they’re going from weddings to funerals and it’s beyond a tragedy.”
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