2 killed in crash at private B.C. racetrack: RCMP
CBC
Police say two people died when a sports car crashed at a luxury private motorsports club in Oliver, B.C.
A statement from the RCMP says the driver of a sports car participating in a private event Wednesday at the Area 27 Motorsports Park failed to navigate a turn and hit a cement barrier at high speed.
Police say both the driver and passenger died from their injuries.
Cpl. James Grandy says in the statement that criminality is not believed to be a factor in the single-vehicle crash and the matter is now being investigated by the B.C. Coroners Service.
A statement from the motorsports park says the pair were participating in a "client entertainment event" when the experienced driver appeared to lose control in the braking zone for Turn 1.
The statement says it's unclear what the root cause of the crash was and the company is sending its deepest sympathies to the victims' families, friends, and the motorsports community.
Area 27's website says it offers "a Grand Prix lifestyle with luxurious amenities" including a 4.83-kilometre circuit track with 16 corners.
It says the track was designed by Canadian and former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve.
With the B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservatives neck and neck heading into election day on Saturday, there are also a record number of Independent candidates who — if voted in — could hold the balance of power in a minority government scenario. British Columbians have only elected one Independent MLA in the last 60 years. Vicki Huntington won a seat in 2009 and was re-elected in 2013. But University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford said the situation could be different this election cycle. Of the 40 Independent candidates running, six of them are incumbent MLAs, who carry the benefit of name recognition in their community. "So we've got Independents in this election who I think we could deem to be viable shots at actually winning a riding, which is not normal," Telford said. "They're still long shots, but they are certainly plausible candidates."
Though Bill C-282 has received cross-party federal support in Ottawa, Alberta's provincial government says it's not a backer of the Bloc Québécois legislation that aims to prevent Canada's supply-managed sectors — dairy, poultry and eggs — from being included in future international trade negotiations.
A former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and 15 others are facing criminal charges for allegedly running a drug-trafficking operation that shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Canada and used violence — including murder — to achieve the group's goals, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.