The owner of a pickup truck involved in a hit-and-run in Kamloops that killed two people and sent two more to hospital Sunday has been arrested.
Kamloops RCMP say officers were called to the intersection of First Avenue and Battle Street at 1:40 a.m., where they found a damaged car with four occupants inside.
Two of the occupants were already deceased when officers arrived, police said.
The other two were taken to hospital. One was suffering life-threatening injuries, police said, while the fourth occupant suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Shawn Pooley, who lives close to where the accident happened and called 911, said the crash and its aftermath was loud enough to wake him up in the middle of the night.
“The neighbour that got down there first, I heard her scream out, ‘Three unresponsive people,'” he said. “That’s when I called 911, and they were all there within five to 10 minutes.”
Police say the driver of the other vehicle involved, described as a pickup truck, had already left by the time officers arrived.
Later Saturday, police said the registered owner of the pickup was located and arrested. It’s not yet known if the owner was the driver involved.
Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said investigators are still trying to determine what led to the crash.
“Because this collision was so drastic, having killed two people in the vehicle, it’s really hard to determine which vehicle was going in which direction, so that’s what our traffic analysts will be determining today,” she said.
First Avenue was closed between Seymour Street and Nicola Street, while Battle Street was shut down from Second Avenue to Lee Road.
First Avenue is expected to be closed for most of the rest of Sunday, police said.
“Due to the severity of this collision, our investigation could take most of the day,” Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said in a statement. “We thank motorists for avoiding this area and taking alternate routes.”
Anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam video is asked to contact Kamloops RCMP.
Police are also asking the driver of the pickup to come forward, or for anyone with information about the driver to contact RCMP or Crime Stoppers.