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Vancouver Island senior dies after medical emergency and rollover crash

Incident happened Saturday in Nanaimo on Poplar Street
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A Nanaimo senior is dead following a single-vehicle accident this past weekend near Terminal Park.

According to Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, the man was driving northbound on Terminal Avenue just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, when his vehicle hit the median while turning right onto Princess Royal Avenue.

O’Brien said, based on witness statements, the vehicle, continued to follow Princess Royal, hitting several signs and eventually reaching Poplar Street, where it went down an embankment.

“It came to rest after hitting several trees and rolled,” he said.

The man was pronounced dead on scene according to O’Brien, who said the victim’s family has been notified.

The 73-year-old driver was the only occupant of the Toyota Rav4.

A press release from the Nanaimo RCMP said witnesses observed the vehicle “driving dangerously” just before the crash.

“There is every reason to believe that the deceased was in a medical emergency just prior to the accident,” the press release noted.

B.C. Coroners Service confirmed that a man from Nanaimo died in the incident and an investigation would “look to determine how, where, when and by what means the man came to his death.”

O’Brien said traffic analysts were on scene for several hours and the investigation is ongoing.



nicholas.pescod@nanaimobulletin.com

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