Fatal accident occurred Friday afternoon near Jack Poole Plaza
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A man who fled from Vancouver police is dead after crashing a three-wheeled vehicle in downtown Vancouver on Friday night.
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The VPD said officers near Canada Place attempted to speak to a man in a vehicle, but he drove off.
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Less than a block away, the vehicle — an open-top Polaris Slingshot — was involved in an head-on accident with a white Honda SUV that left the tri-wheeled vehicle on its side. One person with critical injuries was taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
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The Slingshot was labelled with the branding for Vancity Slingshot, a Richmond-based company that rents a fleet of the vehicles. Lance Thomas-James, who owns the vehicle and founded Vancity Slingshot, confirmed it was one of their vehicles, but his company didn’t rent it.
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Sunrise
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VPD declined to comment, as the Independent Investigations Office has taken over the investigation.
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“The nature of and initial reason for the interaction between the man and police is part of the IIO investigation, but we are not releasing further information at this early juncture,” the IIO said in a statement Saturday.
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The Slingshot is described as a blend of motorcycle and sports car, has two wheels in the front, a single in the rear, and an open top. It has a two-litre engine that makes 180 hp.
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