Charges could soon be laid against the driver of the vehicle that struck Gemma Snowball nearly 10 months ago.
Since the fatal collision, New Westminster police remained tight-lipped about the investigation – until now.
About three or four weeks ago, the department submitted a report to Crown counsel recommending charges against the driver of the vehicle that struck Snowball on March 11, 2013.
The 25-year-old victim had recently moved to New Westminster from Perth, Australia and was working at the deli counter at Safeway in the Royal City Centre. She was leaving work around 10:30 p.m. when she was struck while crossing at Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue.
At the time New Westminster police spokesperson Sgt. Diana McDaniel told The Record heavy rain and poor visibility due to artificial light could have played a role in the accident.
Snowball was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital with major skull fractures, a broken pelvis and broken tibia. She died in hospital two days later.
Co-workers at Safeway said Snowball was a fun-loving, cheerful and energetic young woman, and visited her at the hospital.
"She knew everybody in the store. She talked to everybody," said Sue Lawson, deli manager at Safeway. "She was wonderful."
New Westminster police are now waiting to hear if the charges they recommended, which won’t be revealed until a decision is made, are approved.
Neil MacKenzie, communications counsel for the Crown, said the recommendations are under review right now and a decision would be made once the Crown has finished its review. When that will be, he couldn’t say.
