Woman killed in hit-and-run with U-Haul truck in southeast Edmonton: police

Edmonton police say a U-Haul truck struck and killed a woman in southeast Edmonton Saturday night as it tried to evade officers and Alberta RCMP.

In a RCMP news conference Sunday night, Supt. Leanne MacMillian said a 45-year-old Fort Saskatchewan woman was inspecting the outside of her vehicle after going over a police spike belt on 50th Street near 22nd Avenue when a male suspect in a U-Haul truck hit her around 9:40 p.m.

RCMP say she was one of three civilian vehicles to hit the spike belt. One civilian, who also hit the spike belt, is in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The incident started after Beaumont RCMP attempted to arrest a person suspected of theft around 9 p.m. Saturday but the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, according to MacMillian, who is assistant central Alberta district officer.

The spike belt was laid on the road after the U-Haul truck rammed into an RCMP cruiser, RCMP said.

“This is an active homicide investigation by the Alberta RCMP,” MacMillian told reporters, adding RCMP are working with the Edmonton Police Service.

Edmonton police responded to the request from RCMP by deploying a helicopter. Police said the truck travelled north on 50th Street into Edmonton from Beaumont before striking and killing the woman.

“We are incredibly saddened to hear about the tragic death of the innocent woman who was killed last night on 50 Street,” Det. Nigel Phillips said in a Sunday news release.

“Our hearts are with her family and friends who will now have to carry on with this unfathomable loss.”

Police, RCMP still looking for suspect

Police say the U-Haul did not stop after striking the woman, and crashed shortly after just outside a convenience store near the same intersection at 50th Street and 22nd Avenue in southwest Edmonton.

The male suspect then stole a dark grey Honda Civic that was parked outside the gas station with a child inside, EPS said.

Police said the child was located unharmed in the area of 66th Street and 25th Avenue minutes later, but they say the man had fled in the stolen vehicle.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been notified by RCMP and will be investigating the incident.

The agency investigates cases where people are killed or seriously injured during incidents with police, or when allegations of police misconduct are presented.

Witness heard screaming

Edmonton police and RCMP are looking for one male suspect and the stolen Honda Civic which bears the Alberta licence plate E98-099. The suspect is believed to be about 5 feet, 11 inches tall and was last seen wearing a black hoodie with white text on the front, brown shorts and black shoes.

Ranjodh Johal lives near the gas station on 50th Street.

“I opened the [front] door and that’s when I heard a lot of screaming, yelling, shouting, crying. So I couldn’t figure out what’s going on,” Johal said in an interview.

“The police cars pulled up into the plaza, one after another [and] within five minutes there were a dozen police vehicles and ambulances,” he said.

Robert Cross said his roommate was on his way to a nearby 7-Eleven when he saw police blocking the intersection.

“If you wrote this in a movie, people wouldn’t believe just the connection of events happening all at once. But it happened last night,” Cross said.