A watchdog has cleared Vancouver police of any wrongdoing in a crash that killed a cab driver last month.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
British Columbia’s police oversight agency says the actions of Vancouver police did not contribute to a crash that killed a cab driver last month.
The Independent Investigations Office says police reported that just before 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, a Car2Go smart car made off from a road check on the city’s east side.
The office says a short time later an officer saw the same car driving at a high speed and the officer turned around to follow the car but lost sight of it and couldn’t find it again.
About 10 minutes later, the office says police received a report of a collision between a cab and the same smart car at an intersection and the taxi driver did not survive his injuries.
The office says its chief civilian director has reviewed police records and surveillance footage and found that police did attempt to stop the driver at a road check, but no further police contact was made.
It says the evidence showed the police were not in the vicinity at the time of the collision and only learned of it after other emergency services arrived at the scene.
As a result, it says its investigation has concluded.