The Edmonton police traffic unit is investigating whether street racing may have been a factor in a crash that killed a pedestrian in the Beverly Heights neighbourhood on Sunday.
“We’re still in very early stages of our investigation,” said Staff Sgt. Ted Hrebien.
He said the possibility that the car was racing at the time the man was struck has not been “100 per cent confirmed.”
Witnesses described a white car and a black SUV speeding down 118th Avenue at up to 80 to 90 km/h in the moments before the crash at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The white Honda Civic tried to swerve before hitting a man who was crossing the street near 43rd Street, witnesses said.
The force of the collision crumpled the small car and appeared to have knocked the victim out of his shoes and pants, which were on the ground at least 50 metres from where his body landed in front of an A&W restaurant.
The man died at the scene.
Police spokesman Chad Orydzuk said the man wasn’t carrying any identification when he was hit, and police were still working to confirm his identity on Monday. The man was in his early 20s.
Charges are pending against the 24-year-old woman who was driving the Honda Civic, and Orydzuk said she is co-operating with police. The nature of the charges she will face is not yet being released by police.
Hrebien said early indications are that speed may have played a role in the crash.
“Based on the impact damage to the suspect’s car, it suggests speed was a factor,” he said. “It’s something we’re looking at.”
Hrebien said complex traffic investigations can sometimes take months as investigators interview and re-interview witnesses and analyze evidence from the road and the vehicle.
The death is the city’s 10th traffic fatality and fifth pedestrian death in 2011.
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