The elderly man who was killed after being hit by a van on Tuesday morning was walking southbound on 228th Street, in the same direction as traffic.
It raises the question of whether he was on the road because of the heavy snowfall on Monday night, which left several inches accumulated on sidewalks.
Snow was still falling when the 85-year-old Maple Ridge resident was southbound on 228th St., just north of the intersection with Dewdney Trunk Road, at 6:45 a.m.
Emergency services responded and the Maple Ridge resident was rushed to an area hospital. He did not survive the incident.
Ridge Meadows RCMP Sgt. Brenda Gresiuk said police were able to rule out alcohol and speed as contributing factors to the accident.
According to witnesses, he was walking with the flow of traffic in the southbound lane when he was hit, and the collision was slow.
“It was a very low-speed impact,” Gresiuk said.
That is why police are considering unknown medical issues as a possible cause of death.
“Obviously, weather and road conditions were a factor in all this,” adding that only the victim knows the reason he was walking on the road.
The coroner will decide whether to investigate a potential medical cause of death, Gresiuk said.
Whether the driver saw the pedestrian – sunrise is approximately 7:20 a.m. and it was still dark – is part of the police investigation.
Gresiuk said it is unlikely the driver will be charged.
“It was just a really tragic crash.”
She said the job of police was made easier by witnesses who remained at the scene.
“We are always really grateful when witnesses stay behind and offer medical assistance, or tell us what they saw,” she said.
“Because there are a lot of questions to be answered.”
Maple Ridge bylaws require all residents and businesses to clear the public sidewalks on their property as soon as possible after a snowfall, and no later than 10 a.m.
