Darren Zinkevich hasn’t stopped shaking.
The 50-year-old resident of Vancouver’s gritty Downtown Eastside was walking along the sidewalk in the 100-block of East Hastings Street Friday evening when a woman’s body fell from the sixth floor of the Regent Hotel and crashed to the ground just a few feet in front of him.
Still in shock on Saturday, Zinkevich said the moment the body fell at his feet he called 911, but right away he knew there was nothing doctors could do.
“I said to them ‘this person is dead, just get over here now.’
“Another few steps and she would have hit me,” he added.
“I couldn’t sleep all night after that.
“There was brain matter everywhere and that was going through my mind all night. It was a very traumatic thing, the sound of the body hitting the ground.”
As Zinkevich described the horror, a rally was taking place a half block away to protest the lack of safe housing for women in the crime-plagued neighbourhood.
And on Saturday, Vancouver police were asking for witnesses to come forward with information into the tragic death of 50-year-old Verna Simard.
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Police confirmed Simard fell from her sixth floor suite at the Regent Hotel just before 8 p.m.
VPD Major Crime investigators spent the night interviewing witnesses and were be back at the Regent Hotel Saturday in the hopes of learning more about the last moments before Simard died.
According to VPD media liaison Const. Jana McGuinness a man who was in the suite at the time was taken to the police station for questioning. Investigators have learned that the two were in a long-term relationship; but the man did not reside in the suite.
The tragedy comes exactly one year after Ashley Machiskinic fell to her death at the same hotel. Her case remains open and police are continuing to appeal for information in her death.
“We know that many people in the community are grieving Ashley’s death on this one-year anniversary, and now they are learning of this latest tragedy,” said VPD Const. Jana McGuinness. “We are hopeful that anyone with information in either case will contact our investigators.”
As he was walking along Hastings, Zinkevich said he heard an argument coming from the hotel. “I heard a short scream and the next thing I know I’m dialing 911,” he said of the horror.
He described hearing a “swoosh” and then the body was lying in front of him. “I’ll never forget it.” he said.
Cynthia Good was inside the Regent having a drink when she was told what happened. “I went out and saw a mangled person with her brains everywhere,” she said. “It was ‘oh my god’ – I barely slept.”
At the start of the 5th Annual Women’s Housing March, activist Harsha Walia took time to remember Simard, a longtime resident of the area who had worked at numerous bars along the notorious strip.
“This highlights the daily struggles of women in this neighbourhood,” said Walia a project co-ordinator with the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.
She said Simard had been a strong advocate of housing for women and the poor. “Verna always said she wanted to fight to make things better,” said Walia.
Police are asking for information to be reported to the VPD Major Crime Section at 604-717-2500, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the Sister Watch tip line at 604-215-4777.
Vancouver police have offered a reward of $10,000 for information regarding the death of Machiskinic, who died outside the Regent Hotel Sept. 15, 2010. Police maintain the woman may have fallen to her death from one of the hotel’s windows.
Media reports indicate residents in the community believe the woman was murdered.
The latest victim, Simard, had recently started working part-time at the United We Can bottle depot on Hastings Street. Depot senior supervisor Joe Cator said she was well-liked by co-workers.
“She got along with everyone really well,” he said. “She was a nice person.”
“There’s too much violence against women down here,” he said. “They need more social housing.”
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