Witnesses told police that a blue Kia Sedona minivan was headed northbound in the southbound highway lanes when it collided with an oncoming car.
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Police are hoping to find video footage to help determine how a teenager driving a minivan ended up going wrong direction and became involved in a head-on collision that killed two people.
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According to the RCMP’s highway patrol, it happened just after 3 a.m. Thursday in the southbound lanes of Highway 19 near Ware Road in Lantzville on Vancouver Island.
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Witnesses told police that a blue Kia Sedona minivan was headed northbound in the southbound highway lanes when it collided with a grey Volkswagen.
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Investigators say the two male occupants of the Volkswagen died at the scene. Their ages have not been released and the relationship between them is unknown.
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The driver of the Kia was a 16-year-old Nanaimo girl who was arrested for impaired operation causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. The teen was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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Sgt. Michael McLaughlin say police have spoken to witnesses who confirmed the Kia’s direction of travel before the collision.
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“We need to speak to more witnesses and gather more video to confirm the exact sequence of events,” said McLaughlin.
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Police say the Kia had been in Nanaimo in the four hours leading up to the collision and are now looking for dashboard or security camera footage, as well as witnesses, that can help shed light on the minivan’s movements.
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Anyone who may have spotted the van driving between Third Street and Pine Street, Nanaimo, and Island Highway North near Lantzville, is asked to contact the highway patrol in Parksville at 250-954-2953 and cite file (4201) 2026-28277.
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