A Vancouver Island teen was killed after being struck by a pickup truck as she and a friend allegedly played chicken with traffic on a highway near Nanaimo.
Cynthia Bernice Williams, 17, of Port Alberni was killed while attempting to cross Highway 19A at 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
She was hit by a northbound Ford Ranger, driven by a couple returning to their home in Parksville, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The couple was not injured.
In a release, Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien said police received numerous 911 calls just prior to the accident, concerning a man and a woman who appeared to be “playing chicken with oncoming vehicles.”
The accident, which closed the highway for several hours and backed traffic up for two kilometres, occurred within 20 metres of an overpass.
A 26-year-old man was arrested nearby. He is believed to have been with Williams at the time and was arrested for breaching a court order to have no contact with her.
