Calgary pedestrian dies after being run over twice; other cars failed to stop

CALGARY – Police are looking for answers in the death of a pedestrian who was hit and run over by two different vehicles that fled the scene.

Wong Shuk Yee, 56, was struck while crossing a street at a busy intersection in northwest Calgary on Wednesday morning.

As she was lying on the ground, she was run over by a second vehicle that dragged her 50 metres before it sped away.

Police say it’s believed at least two other motorists slowed down and drove around the victim.

“If the person actually knows they’ve hit something, or they know someone is dead on the side of the road, then … I’m a bit shaken by people’s callousness,” said Sgt. Colin Foster of the Calgary Police Service.

“However, do they know what they’re seeing? Are they aware of what they’re seeing? If they don’t know that it’s a person on the side of the road, can I condemn someone for driving on? It’s very hard to do that.”

Police did eventually receive a call from a driver who turned himself in.

Steven Jonathan Vanasse of Calgary, 24, was charged with hit and run causing death on Thursday.

It’s too soon to say if the second driver could be found culpable in the woman’s death as well.

“I’m not a medical doctor,” said Foster. “She is going through the process of an autopsy at the moment and I’m hoping that the autopsy might be able to assist us in being able to apportion, for lack of a better description, blame to one driver over the other.

“In any event, both vehicles struck her, both vehicles caused some injury to her and that’s what we’re looking at.”

Tonja Beach was the first person to come to the victim’s assistance. She told reporters at the scene Wednesday that she called 911 and sat with the woman.

“By the time they got here she was already gone,” she said.

Beach was saddened that both the drivers who hit the Yee fled and that nobody else initially stopped.

“There’s no compassion in the city. Everybody was trying to drive around her.”