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Police watchdog investigating after teen runs into oncoming traffic during Highway 1 roadside stop

The Independent Investigations Office is called in whenever there is an officer-involved incident resulting in death or serious injury.

17-year-old hospitalized with serious injuries

CBC News ·
Police officers and other emergency responders were on the scene in Coquitlam for hours after the incident closed Highway 1. A 17-year-old boy was taken to hospital after he ran into oncoming traffic during a roadside stop, according to the IIO, the agency tasked with investigating serious police-involved incidents. (Matthew Black/CBC)

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating after a 17-year-old boy was hit by another car after he was stopped for speeding on Highway 1 on Monday.

RCMP pulled the teen over near the Brunette Avenue exit just after 8:15 p.m., according to the Independent Investigations Office. The car he'd been in was heading westbound in the HOV lane at "excessive speed."

The IIO says the teen — believed to be the driver — got out, jumped the concrete median and ran in front of oncoming traffic while the officer was drawing up paperwork.

The Integrated Collision and Reconstruction Service (ICARS) was also on scene. (Matthew Black/CBC)

The 17-year-old was hit by another vehicle and taken to hospital in serious condition. The driver of the vehicle that hit him wasn't hurt.

The police watchdog said it's investigating whether or not there's a link between the officer's actions and the boy's injuries.

IIO investigators are called in whenever there is an officer-involved incident resulting in death or serious injury. 

Eastbound traffic blocked

The incident reduced eastbound traffic to the highway's shoulder for several hours.

Catherine Bunagan was driving with her boyfriend when they ran into the stand-still congestion.

"We ended up having to park and cut the engine," she said. "All four, five lanes were backed up for quite a while. I don't even know how to quantify how many cars were here."

It was bumper-to-bumper traffic on Highway 1 after the incident. The IIO has now been called to investigate. (Harpreet Grewal/CBC)

Bunagan described seeing numerous emergency vehicles at the scene of the collision, including ambulances, fire engines, tow trucks and police cars.

She said traffic began to move — slowly — around 10 p.m. The highway re-opened just after 12:30 a.m.

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