Vancouver Car-Ramming Incident Leaves Senior Critically Injured, 2 Police Officers Hurt

A senior citizen is in hospital in critical condition and two Vancouver police officers were injured after a vehicle-ramming incident in Vancouver’s West End on Friday morning.

A male suspect, who has not been named, allegedly rammed into several vehicles, sped through a section of Nelson Park, and intentionally drove along a sidewalk, according to a statement by the Vancouver Police Department.

Police said they received a report at 5:30 a.m. on May 15 about a man driving erratically in the area of Comox and Broughton streets. The driver was allegedly hitting several objects along the streets and in the dog park area of Nelson Park.

Witnesses told police they had to scramble to get out of the way of the suspect’s vehicle, the statement said, adding that a senior riding a motorized scooter was struck when he was unable to evade the vehicle in time.

The vehicle, which appears to be a dark-colored SUV in photos provided by police, came to a stop when it struck a police cruiser and flipped onto its side. In the photos, the front of the police cruiser can be seen heavily damaged with its hood crumpled.

Police say the suspect was trapped inside his vehicle and had to be freed by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.

Although an investigation by the Vancouver police’s Major Crimes Unit is ongoing, police said that mental health and drug use issues are possible factors in the incident, but that the motive remains unclear.

Comox Street between Thurlow and Bute were closed to the public as of press time due to the incident.

In an email to The Epoch Times, Constable Darren Wong said that the suspect is receiving treatment in a hospital and remains in custody. The senior who was struck remains in critical condition and the two injured officers are recovering. Wong added that no charges have yet been laid against the suspect, as it is still very early in the investigation.

Vehicle-ramming incidents in Canada are rare but not unprecedented. The most recent major case occurred on April 26, 2025, in Vancouver during a Lapu-Lapu Day festival, when a driver struck a crowd attending the Filipino community celebration, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more.

Victims in the 2025 attack ranged widely in age, from a 5-year-old child to seniors in their 60s. The incident was one of the deadliest vehicle-ramming attacks in Canadian history and prompted renewed scrutiny of safety planning at large public events.