Two cyclists and one passenger are dead after an allegedly impaired driver struck a group of bicyclists on Highway 99 east of Pemberton.
It happened just before noon on Sunday, north of Mount Currie and 15 kilometres east of the Birkenhead River. The driver hit three cyclists, killing two of them, along with the passenger in his own vehicle.
The two cyclists were members of the Whistler Cycling club and have been identified as Kelly Blunden, 53, and Ross Chafe, 50. The third cyclist was not injured.
The passenger has been identified as Paul Maurice Pierre, Jr., 52, of the Lil’wat Nation.
The driver was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital, accompanied by an RCMP officer. His condition is unknown. He may be known to police but that has not been confirmed at this time.
WATCH: Whistler mourns deaths of two well-known local cyclists
Whistler Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair says that witnesses and officers described the driver as impaired, but didn’t have any other information on his state, or what caused the collision.
“The area is remote, there’s no cell phone reception, very spotty radio communication,” he said.
“We do have a collision investigation crew on scene…once they process the scene, take a look at the witness statements, we’ll have a better idea of what happened.”
Highway 99 was closed in both directions for several hours.
The identity of the third victim has not been released, but their family has been notified.
Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, (ICARS) has been called to the scene to try and determine what happened.
More to come…
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