Several fatal collisions this year remain under police investigation, including two hit and run's in Cedar and a fatal two vehicle crash along the Nanaimo Parkway over the summer. (submitted photo/Bradley Bullock)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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NANAIMO — A pair of high-profile, and presently unsolved hit-and-runs highlighted the potential dangers of rural roads this year.

Police continue investigating a pair of crashes which led to the deaths of a 90-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man in separate, yet similar, incidents in Cedar.

On Oct. 24, Charles Tommy was walking along Harmac Rd. following an afternoon fishing the nearby Nanaimo River when he was hit by a passing vehicle and left on the roadway with the vehicle and driver speeding away.

Despite efforts of witnesses, who performed CPR and first-aid on Tommy, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, and the weeks since, police have been unable to positively identify even a make and model of the offending vehicle.

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Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said officers are “slowly sifting through evidence” which includes available “CCTV and dash cam” footage.

SFN Chief Michael Wyse (centre, blue shirt) was surrounded by family members of Charles Tommy as he delivered a prepared statement asking for the public’s help. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Tommy’s family made a plea to the driver to come forward, however their calls have so far gone unanswered.

Speaking for the family during the Oct. 29 plea for information, Snuneymuxw First Nation Chief Michael Wyse said the people responsible can still do the right thing.

“…it’s a very tough time for our people right now. When a young man’s life is taken this way and somebody leaves and you don’t know what happened or why it happened, there’s a lot of unanswered questions there. We’d like to talk to the person and see.”

Eight months prior, a 90-year-old woman was killed in similar fashion along Cedar Rd., just northeast of Nanaimo Airport on Feb. 25.

A passerby found the woman on the side of the road, with arriving emergency crews also pronouncing her dead on scene.

While an exact time of death is unknown, it’s believed the incident occurred between 8 and 8:45 p.m.

Police say there is very little to go on in terms of security camera or dash cam footage, however investigators locally are awaiting technical reports from the scene in order to proceed.

One person was killed when an oncoming vehicle crossed the grassy median and veered into traffic in mid-August. (submitted photo/Bradley Bullock)

The Nanaimo Parkway saw a pair of somewhat similar incidents, involving vehicles crossing into oncoming traffic.

During the evening of Aug. 12, a southbound vehicle driving between Aulds Rd. and Mostar Rd. lost control and veered across the grassy median and crashed into a northbound SUV.

Flames erupted from at least one of the vehicles, with the driver of the northbound SUV transported to hospital with ultimately fatal injures.

The driver of the southbound car which lost control had serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Travellers along the Parkway were detoured around the site until late at night when the roadway was re-opened, however police shut down traffic for two hours, around two weeks later to continue their investigation.

A semi-trailer attempted to avoid a vehicle turning into oncoming traffic on the Nanaimo Parkway in late June, sending the driver of the trailer to hospital in Victoria with significant injuries. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

A criminal investigation remains ongoing into the cause and potential actions of a driver involved in a crash on June 19, also on the Nanaimo Parkway.

Police said at the time an SUV crossed into traffic and was involved in a head-on collision with a northbound semi-truck, which saw the commercial truck roll onto its side and pinning the driver.

The driver of the SUV suffered only minor injuries, with police crediting his modern vehicle for keeping him alive, while the driver of the semi-truck was flown to hospital in Victoria with significant injuries.

O’Brien said both situations along the Nanaimo Parkway could result in criminal charges, and their investigation is continuing.

Oceanside RCMP say their investigation into a fatal crash along Hwy. 4 is concluded and no charges are expected as a result of the death.

The incident occurred in the late night hours of Oct. 4 between Burbank Rd. and Hilliers Rd. and saw a Toyota Echo driven by a 31-year-old Parksville man heading home cross the centre line and collided with a westbound sedan.

The man was killed in the incident while two people in the sedan were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Mounties said at the time speed and impairment were not immediately ruled out as contributing factors to the crash.

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