A Vancouver resident who witnessed the tragic incident at the Lapu Lapu festival on Saturday night said he is shocked something so horrific could happen on the street where he lives.
Colton spoke to 730 CKNW on Sunday morning and was still in shock.
Global News is not publishing Colton’s last name due to safety concerns.
“I saw the driver of this vehicle driving recklessly before he did what he did,” Colton said.
“He was going through our neighbourhood and he was driving too fast. That was my impression. And he was speeding down our side street and then turning onto our street, 43rd Avenue. And then, you know, I thought he was just a bad driver.”
However, Colton said that is when he saw the vehicle make a U-turn and pull over to the side of the road and he thought he was parking his SUV.
“So I walked past, and then, you know, a minute or two later, everyone was screaming,” Colton said.
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“And then, the car, it sped straight down our street and past the… wooden pallet that was just signifying that the street was closed to the vehicles. He (drove) straight through that and down our street where… there were so many people that were still walking on the street and just enjoying the evening.”
Vancouver festival tragedy: 11 killed, dozens injured on ‘darkest day’ in city’s history, police say
Vancouver police confirmed on Sunday morning that 11 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man drove an SUV into a crowd at the festival, which was taking place on school grounds located at East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street.
The suspect, who has not yet been charged, remains in custody.
Police said he is a 30-year-old man who lives in the city and has had previous interactions with the police in connection with mental health issues.
A motive for the deadly incident remains unclear.
Colton said first responders were on the scene immediately and cordoned off the area, asking people to stay back.
“So I didn’t myself, didn’t go into the area where there were people but then one of our neighbours that he saw, just the extent of … Of really the horrible scenes.”
Colton said there is just a state of shock and disbelief that something like that could happen on a quiet, peaceful street.
“Nothing, of course, of this scale has ever happened in our entire lives here,” he said.
“There’s a desire to find out why the person did what he did, what was the motivation, something that you know, it just, it seemed like a deliberate act. And we want answers … we really want to know what happened and we want to see answers for the people that are hurting right now.”
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