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UPDATED: Two dead in Lougheed Highway dump truck crash

Witnesses report seeing a dump truck roll down a hill, careen onto the highway and hit two vehicles
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Witnesses said a large dump truck rolled down the hill from a work site and someone who tried to stop the truck was run over before the rig careened onto the highway. (Twitter - @StephensPhotoM)

A soon-to-be father has been identified as one of the two people killed in a multi-vehicle crash involving a dump truck in Coquitlam.

The collision, around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, closed Lougheed Highway in both directions between Pitt River Road and Como Lake Avenue.

Witnesses said a large dump truck rolled down the hill from a work site. Someone ran over to try to stop it, they said, but was run over before the rig careened onto the highway, striking two vehicles.

It is not clear who this person was. But Coquitlam RCMP say the dump truck’s operator, a man in his 30s, was killed in the incident.

The operator has been identified on social media by friends and family as Bobby Vanderhoef, 32, of Maple Ridge.

“You were my everything I love you more so beyond words. You were my strength my best friend my world,” his wife, Amanda, wrote in a Facebook post. They had just gotten married.

“You were so excited to become a dad and this baby won’t have the chance to know you.”

The coroner has yet to release the name of either of the two victims.

The second person killed, a woman in her 60s, was a passenger in one of the other vehicles. Four other people were taken to hospital with various injuries.

The RCMP’s collision investigation team and WorkSafeBC are looking into what caused the truck to roll away.

With files from Gary McKenna, Tri-City News


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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