As 2022 draws to a close, we’re looking back at the top 10 Burnaby news stories of the year.
Yesterday, we brought you a reminder of the gradual easing of pandemic restrictions over the course of 2022. Today, we recap the year’s No. 8 story, about the shocking death of two teens in a crash allegedly caused by a driver fleeing police.
Fatal crash
Among the saddest stories carried by the Burnaby NOW in 2022 was reporter Cornelia Naylor’s coverage of the death of Burnaby's Yasbirat Ytatek, 17, and Vancouver's Samir Olyad Suleiman Ali, 18, in a crash on the Burnaby-New Westminster border on July 26.
The two teens were on their way home from a soccer game in New Westminster just after 11 p.m. that night, when their car was hit.
A short time earlier, Metro Vancouver Transit Police said, one its officers had tried to conduct a traffic stop at but the driver allegedly took off “at a high rate of speed.”
That vehicle was located on fire a short time later at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Sixth Street after colliding with Ytatek and Ali’s Toyota Yaris.
Ytatek and Ali were taken to hospital but succumbed to their injuries.
The driver and passenger from the suspect vehicle were arrested at the scene.
The Independent Investigations Office, which investigates police-involved incidents that result in death or serious harm, was called in.
As of December, the two suspects had not been charged. However, a Metro Vancouver Transit Police spokesman said the force is working with Crown prosecutors and will be recommending charges of prohibited driving, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and flight from police.
Victims mourned
The victims were promising teens with bright futures, according to friends and family, who described Ali as 'compassionate, friendly, bright and wise beyond his years' and Ytatek as a 'great role model for his
Ali, the oldest of nine children in his family, was preparing to go to the University of British Columbia on a full scholarship in the fall, according to a GoFundMe page set up in his name by friends and family.
His family arrived in Canada five years ago as refugees, and Ali had recently graduated from high school and earned a full scholarship to the UBC kinesiology program starting in September, according to the GoFundMe write-up.
“Samir was known by all as compassionate, friendly, bright and wise beyond his years,” the write-up states.
Ytatek, the oldest of five siblings, was preparing to go into his final year of high school in the fall, according to another GoFundMe campaign.
The write-up describes him as a “great role model for his younger siblings and community members.”
“Yasbirat was a phenomenal person and will be missed by many people,” states the write-up.
It goes on to describe Ytatek as an “amazing rugby and soccer player,” and a post on the Byrne Creek Community School rugby Twitter page remembers Ytatek as “a wonderful young man with a world of potential in front of him.”
Community rallies for families
The Lower Mainland Ethiopian community rallied in Burnaby after the crash to support the victims’ families.
On Aug. 1, hundreds of people gathered on 10th Avenue near Sixth Street, where the teens’ Toyota had come to rest after the deadly collision.
“We all are saddened. We all are heartbroken,” said Jemal Kurtu, a neighbour and close friend of the Ali family.
Both teens were firstborn sons of large families, and Kurtu described them as leaders in the Ethiopian community to which they both belonged.
Ytatek, the oldest of five siblings, “was a great older brother and role model. I’m very proud of the man that he became,” his younger brother, Teka, told the crowd.
Bal Dhillon, Byrne Creek’s community school coordinator, remembered the first time he met Ytatek at the school.
“Right away, I noticed he had a really big smile, and that smile lit up a room, any room he walked into,” Dhillon said at the vigil.
Ali came to Canada with his family as a refugee via Kenya five years ago.
He was the oldest of nine siblings and the “light and hope of the family,” according to Moges Seblehiwot, founder of Ethiopian Affairs in BC and an organizer of the vigil.
Seblehiwot said his group organized the vigil to support for the families and show them “they’re not alone.”
He encouraged people at the event to contribute to GoFundMe campaigns launched in the boys’ names.
“We can’t reverse the situation,” Seblehiwot told the crowd. “We know we can’t get them back, but we can pray, we can help them in finance. They are in deep pain, they are in agony.”
