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Tsawwassen First Nation mourns 'pillars' killed in Delta, B.C. crash
Police say the driver was in apparent medical distress, and two injured people remain in critical condition while investigators assess the crash.
On Wednesday, Tsawwassen First Nation elders Barb Joe and Virginia Splockton died after a pickup truck crashed outside the Tsawwassen Mills shopping centre in Delta, leaving two others in critical condition.
Investigators are assessing if medical distress caused the driver of an Alpine Building Maintenance vehicle to strike the pedestrians; police confirmed there is no evidence the collision was intentional.
Family members called the elders "cultural pillars," describing Joe as a knowledge keeper who revived the nation's language and Splockton as a great-grandmother who "touched countless lives."
Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, David Eby, Emily Lowan, and Lorne Doerkson offered condolences, joining The Indian Residential School Survivors Society and Huu-ay-aht First Nations in mourning.
Tsawwassen First Nation was hosting a walk and unveiling traditional house posts for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation nearby when the collision occurred; police clarified it was unrelated to these events.