Prince George RCMP have located the vehicle they believe was involved in a fatal hit-and-run collision Saturday night which killed a man in a wheelchair and left another man with serious injuries.
An RCMP officer on patrol just after midnight Saturday found two adult males in an adjacent parking lot suffering from their injuries next to a severely damaged electric- powered wheelchair and bicycle on the east side Victoria Street between 15th and 17th Avenues.
The two men were transported to hospital where the 48-year-old man who was in the wheelchair later died of his injuries. A 56-year-old man who was on the bike, is expected to survive his injuries.
After closing the road on both sides police determined the northbound vehicle struck the two victims and the driver did not stop. The vehicle was described as a dark-coloured 2012 or 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. It will have extensive damage from the impact of the collision on the passenger side.
Within a few hours of asking for help from the public to locate the vehicle involved in the collision, police were provided information that led them to locate and seize a vehicle. A forensic and mechanical examination will be conducted on the vehicle to help identify and locate the driver.
"We still have to prove who was behind the wheel," said Prince George RCMP spokesperson Craig Douglass. "We may know who owns the vehicle but being the owner doesn't mean you were the one driving it so we have to do some other things like that and garner the evidence before we submit a report."
It was not revealed where the two victims were when they were hit.
"They may have been on the sidewalk," said Douglass. "That's part of the investigation so we can't say for sure. We're not ruling out they were on the road and not ruling out they were on the sidewalk."
Douglass said the vehicle was found in the city but would reveal where because that could put the owner at risk of harm from someone who knows the victims.
"We just have to be careful and I want to talk to the investigators about that first before we do that," said Douglass. "If that will garner more information then maybe we'll do that."
Police are asking anybody who witnessed the incident or has any information to help identify the driver to call them at 250-561-3300 or call Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477. You do not have to reveal your identity. If information you provide leads to an arrest you could receive a cash reward.
Douglass is urging the driver to do the right thing and surrender to police.
