Residents of a quiet Vancouver neighbourhood were woken up suddenly on Wednesday morning by loud crashes on the street outside.
Vancouver police said that around 3:15 a.m., they started to receive 911 calls that a car was driving erratically in the area of West 3rd Avenue and Stephens Street.
“When we arrived on scene, there were a number of bystanders who were also present,” Sgt. Steve Addision with the Vancouver Police Department told Global News.
“We found the alleged impaired driver still in the vehicle as well as a child, a young child, in the vehicle.”
Addison said the bystanders helped take care of the child while the police were on scene.
He said the driver was taken into custody, given an immediate 90-day suspension, his vehicle has been impounded for 30 days and they will be submitting a report requesting an additional report about the high-risk nature of the driving.
Addison said police will also be recommending criminal charges related to impaired driving.
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He would not specify the age of the child but said when officers arrived on the scene, the child was still inside the car but was not in a car seat.
“We do not believe the child was physically injured,” Addison added.
He said they are extremely thankful that no one else was injured, let alone killed.
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“We heard just a tremendous amount of sound and banging,” resident Quincy Young told Global News.
She said they thought a car was knocking over garbage cans and described the situation as “heartbreaking,” as the child was screaming in the back of the car.
“Thank goodness no one was hurt,” she said.
Young, who works as a psychologist, said a child that young cannot understand what is happening; they only know it is a terrifying situation.
“When the people who are supposed to be caring for you are not doing that, the damage of that can be lifelong.”
Her daughter, Jasper Schaller, is the owner of one of the cars that was hit.
She told Global News her car is not drivable.
“It’s so concerning and scary that a child is even in that situation,” Jasper said.
Addison said that the child, along with an older sibling, was placed into the care of a family member while the driver was in police custody. Police will be communicating with the Ministry of Children and Family Development to make sure there are safety plans in place for the children, he confirmed.
— with files from Rumina Daya
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
