'A model of courage': Third victim of Tsawwassen Mills crash dies in hospital

A third person injured when a pickup truck hit a crowd of people at Tsawwassen Mills on Sept. 30 has died.

Sixty-four-year-old Gwenyth Dwyn of South Delta succumbed to her injuries Oct. 7. According to her online obituary, Dwyn was a Community Health Specialist with Fraser Health, helping to shape public policy on prevention of abuse of legal substances, and called her “a model of courage.”

“Filled with integrity, she was committed to social justice,” it says. “She gave her time and extensive skills to many causes that were close to her heart, supporting several community organizations including those fighting for women to be safe from violence and oppression, those assisting people who struggle to find employment, ones for people living with mental health and addictions, and youth-serving organizations.”

The two other fatalities were First Nations elders: Virginia Splockton and wilapiya (Barb Joe). A second person who was hospitalized has been released and continues to recover at home, according to Delta Police.

The crash, which occurred following Tsawwassen First Nations’ Truth and Reconciliation Day walk, saw a pickup truck hit people in the gathered crowd. Police had said at the time that a medical incident with the driver may have precipitated the event, though social media has been flooded with accounts from witnesses who dispute that.

Delta Police stressed that the investigation has not reached any conclusions about the incident. The driver, who was attended to at the scene by emergency medical services, was not arrested, and charges have not been laid.

Authorities are piecing together witness accounts, video recovered from bystanders’ phones and cameras, as well as security footage from the mall. Investigators are attempting to track the movements of the vehicle before the incident, as well as an earlier collision, said Delta Staff Sgt. Mike Whiteley.

“We understand that the community has questions and wants answers about what occurred,” he said. “Our responsibility is to ensure those answers are based on a complete and objective examination of the evidence. Investigators are working through a significant amount of information, and it is important that we not reach conclusions before that work is complete.”

Anyone who has not already spoken with investigators and who witnessed the incident or observed the involved vehicle on the Tsawwassen Mills property before the collision to contact the Delta Police Department at (604) 946-4411 and reference file 26-18401.

There is a burial service for Dwyn on Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Heritage Gardens Cemetery, located at 19082 16th Avenue in South Surrey.