B.C.'s police watchdog has determined there are "no reasonable grounds" to believe Metro Vancouver Transit Police officers committed an offence in a crash that killed two teens on the Burnaby-New Westminster border in July 2022.
Vancouver's Samir Ali, 18, and Burnaby's Yabsrat Ytatek, 17, were returning home from a soccer practice in New West at about 11 p.m. on July 26, 2022, when they were fatally injured in a crash with a Nissan Altima at the intersection 10th Avenue and Sixth Street.
A man and woman in the Nissan were also taken to hospital but survived their injuries.
Transit Police told the Independent Investigations Office that officers had tried to stop the Nissan but it had failed to stop before it collided with the Toyota, according to an IIO news release after the crash.
The police watchdog has now wrapped up its investigation into the incident.
“The chief civilian director has reviewed the evidence – including forensic scene analysis, video footage, medical records, and police information – and determined that there are no reasonable grounds to believe any officer may have committed an offence,” stated a news release Thursday.
Cory Robert Brown, 27, was charged last July with criminal negligence causing death, flight from police and driving while prohibited in relation to the crash.
He is currently in custody, and his next court appearance in the case is scheduled for March 11, according to the Vancouver provincial court registry.
The IIO’s public report will not be released until the police investigation has concluded, according to the IIO release.
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