A car hit three child pedestrians at the UBC Botanical Garden Wednesday afternoon.
According to University RCMP Cpl. Ian Sim, three elementary school students were struck by a car that sped off the road at the roundabout in the Botanical Garden parking lot. He said the three “young patients” were transported to BC Children’s Hospital and that the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
Sim said the students were part of a field trip from an elementary school in Burnaby.
University RCMP were called to the scene around 12:30 p.m. As of 4:15, officers had left and a medium-sized black car was being loaded onto a tow truck. The car did not appear to have any significant damage.
The Botanical Garden announced it would be closed for the rest of the day on its Twitter at 1:05 p.m.
Orange plastic guardrails blocked the driveway, but the stretch of Northwest Marine Drive just outside the garden was open to traffic.
The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, but was not arrested, according to Sim. He added that impaired driving or criminality did not seem to be factors in the accident at this time.
In a statement from the University RCMP posted at 6:13 p.m. Wednesday evening, Sim wrote that the three victims were in grade 4 and that their families had been notified.
He asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the University RCMP at 604.224.1322.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This article was updated at 7:21 p.m. on June 1, 2022 to include a statement from the University RCMP.