A 21-year-old woman from Argentina is in critical condition after rollerblading through a stop sign at Lonsdale Avenue and colliding with the side of a van Thursday morning.
The woman was rollerblading westbound down East Osborne Road near Carisbrooke Park around 10:15 a.m. when she failed to break for the stop sign at Lonsdale Avenue and went into the busy road.
The southbound Toyota van coming down Lonsdale didn’t have a chance to react, said North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong, adding the driver remained at the scene and no other vehicles were involved in the accident.
“She was coming down that hill. It’s quite a steep hill,” said De Jong.
The young woman, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, was unconscious at the scene and sustained extensive head injuries. The driver and some early witnesses to the accident started CPR before first responders arrived shortly after, said De Jong.
The injured woman is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Lions Gate Hospital in critical condition, said De Jong, adding she is in Canada on a work visa, and has a sister here who was notified of the accident along with other family members.
Police remained on the scene Thursday morning to take photos and measurements and speak to witnesses as they continued to investigate the accident.
De Jong speculated the woman might have not been familiar with the road or stop sign.
