Multiple investigations are looking into the fatal collision between an ambulance and a train in Langley Friday morning.
Helena Theodora Van Gool, 87, died after the crash, in which an ambulance on 216th Street at Glover Road was hit by an eastbound CN freight train.
Van Gool was being taken from a Langley seniors home to the hospital, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.
The elderly woman was airlifted to Royal Columbian Hospital but died later that day.
The attendant in the rear of the ambulance was also airlifted to hospital and later reported to be in stable condition.
The driver suffered back pain but was otherwise unhurt.
Dashcam footage of the incident widely shared on Facebook showed the ambulance had pulled forward close to the busy light at 216th Street and Glover Road while the train approached. The back end of the ambulance was still on the tracks, and the train struck the back end of the vehicle, spinning it around violently.
So far the Coroners Service, RCMP’s ICARS team, WorkSafeBC, the Transportation Safety Board, the BC Ambulance Service, and CP Rail have all launched investigations.
Train crossings and roads in the area were snarled for hours after the collision as police blocked Glover, and the stopped train temporarily blocked the Langley Bypass.
Anyone who witnessed the crash and has not yet spoken to the RCMP is being asked to call 604-532-3200.
