New details from RCMP suggest Merritt city councillor was killed in apparent hit and run

The RCMP have provided more details about a vehicle crash that claimed the life of a 46-year-old city councillor from the BC Interior.

On Wednesday, the City of Merritt confirmed that councillor Claire Newman was struck and killed by a vehicle outside Valemount while on her way to visit family.

According to the Valemount RCMP, they received an automated cell phone crash notification shortly after midnight from an area along Highway 16 near Lucerne Lake, which is about an hour drive east of Valemount.

A release says when officers arrived on the scene they found a Nissan Frontier running, unlocked with a dog inside.

Cpl. Madonna Saunderson with the northern BC RCMP district says there were no other vehicles in the area when police arrived.

Upon closer examination of the scene, officers found the deceased woman in the ditch down an embankment near the vehicle.

Officers believe she was outside of her pickup truck when she was struck by a vehicle.

“Police located a headlight assembly that has been identified as belonging to a 2016 to 2018 Jeep Cherokee and grey in colour,” the release says.

“We encourage the driver to contact the police.”

Officers are now looking to speak to anyone who was in the area between 11 pm on July 4 and shortly after midnight on July 5 that may have seen the woman or her vehicle on the highway.

Anyone with information can call the Valemount RCMP at (20) 566-4466 and reference file number 2023-580.

When the City of Merritt issued their statement on Newman’s death, they asked that people give her family privacy during this tragic time.

Thumbnail photo credit: 123rf