Teen Arrested for Impaired Driving After Fatal Crash on Vancouver Island

A fatal head-on collision on Highway 19 on Vancouver Island has resulted in the arrest of a 16-year-old girl from Nanaimo. The crash, which occurred just after 3 a.m. on Thursday, claimed the lives of two men traveling in a Volkswagen Jetta.

BC Highway Patrol alleges that the teen was driving a blue Kia Sedona minivan northbound in the southbound lanes near Ware Road when the collision occurred. The minivan sustained severe front-end damage, while the Jetta ended up in the ditch.

The arrested youth faces charges of impaired operation causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. She was taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

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Police have already spoken to multiple witnesses who say that the blue Kia minivan was driving north in the southbound lanes at the time of the collision.

Investigators are appealing to the public for assistance, as they have spoken to witnesses who reported the minivan traveling in the wrong direction. Police are urging anyone who saw the blue Kia minivan driving between Third Street and Pine Street in Nanaimo, and on Island Highway North near Lantzville, or who has relevant dash-camera video, to contact them. The minivan was reportedly seen in Nanaimo four hours before the collision.

Authorities are working to gather more evidence and video footage to confirm the exact sequence of events leading up to the tragic crash.

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We need to speak to more witnesses and gather more video to confirm the exact sequence of events.