Horrific crash
Const. Sarah Beckett died at about 3:30 a.m. in Langford. Cst. Beckett, a mother of two young children, was a member of the West Shore RCMP detachment and was when a speeding truck smashed into her cruiser at the intersection of Goldstream Avenue and Peatt Road.
Vancouver Island news station CHEK TV spoke with witness Jordan Coons, who lives across the street from where the accident occurred; Coons heard the truck speed by his home moments before impact.
“The truck came flying by underneath my deck at a pretty high rate of speed and it was just enough for me to sit up and go wow,” he told CHEK reporter Tess van Straaten. “And then I heard the smash and then it was silent except the horn going off, it was pretty eerie.”
Coons rushed outside to find that the “truck was basically sitting on top of the cop car” and both vehicles were badly mangled. “His bumper was right inside her window,” he said. Other officers arrived and along with Coons worked to free both drivers.
“Me and two of the other officers just started yanking on the door and trying to pry it open and eventually we just tried to get the truck off so we put it in reverse and had to move the guys legs to get him off the brake,” Coons told van Straaten. “The poor guy, he was just beside himself.
“Immediately the other officers that were there were yelling, ‘Sarah, Sarah, oh my God she’s got kids, oh my God, get her out!”
Investigation underway
The crash is under investigation and the driver of the truck, who was taken to hospital in serious condition, is said to be in police custody. However, RCMP have not issued a statement on whether charges will be laid. There does not appear to have been passengers in either vehicle.
While witness Coons said he thought the crash may have happened while the truck was being pursued, RCMP Chief Superintendent Ray Bernoties said he was unable to give further details.
“At this point, I can’t go into any details about the investigation whatsoever,” he said. “The collision itself is going to be investigated by the Saanich Police Dept to assure a degree of independence.”
Premier Christy Clark issued a statement of condolences to Const. Beckett’s family and colleagues and said that “Each and every day, police officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe. We should all take the opportunity to thank them more often.”
Coons said the death of the RCMP officer “breaks my heart.”
