vancouver-woman-narrowly-misses-being-hit-by-falling-window-downtown
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Vancouver woman narrowly misses being hit by falling window downtown

ByEmma Crawford

Posted October 13, 2024 2:19 pm. Last Updated October 13, 2024 5:20 pm. Editor’s note: a previous version of this story had said a window had fallen from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. The window had in fact fallen from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Estates — a residential building near the hotel. A Vancouver woman says she was seconds away from being hit by a glass window that fell outside a downtown building and smashed onto the sidewalk. Val Jones says she was at the corner of Burrard and West Cordova street around 2 p.m. Saturday when she heard a crash behind her. “At the same time as I looked back, I started running forwards because I can see glass just shattering about five feet behind me,” said Jones. Jones says she was initally confused and then got an adrenaline rush later at a coffee shop. She says there were two families with children nearby, and the glass may have also damaged a nearby car. “Afterwards, I went into the hotel and I actually told the concierge and he had no idea anything had just happened either.” Jones says this is one of her fears while living in the city and suspects if she had waited two extra seconds, she could have been hit by the window. She now wants answers about how this could have happened. “I would love to know how a window falls out of a hotel, especially a hotel that’s been there for quiet some time,” said Jones. “This is obviously something that is a public saftey concern.” Kerrie Bowders, director of marketing and communications for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, confirms the glass fell from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Estates and says nobody was hurt. 1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the building’s management for comment.

icbc-taken-to-court-by-driver-who-says-he-was-wrongly-blamed
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ICBC taken to court by driver who says he was wrongly blamed

ByBeth Rochester

Determining who is at fault when a traffic accident happens is part of the usual investigation process for ICBC insurance claims. One incident took things a step further when a driver claimed ICBC had incorrectly found him at fault and decided to escalate the situation in court. Kuldeep Gill filed a claim with the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal against ICBC for a review of ICBC’s liability finding and a refund of $3,190.93 in premiums he paid after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident in October 2021. In Gill’s version of events, he was driving westbound on Lougheed Highway when a vehicle hit the side of his truck as he was stopped in heavy traffic. Fortunately, neither his truck nor his empty trailer was damaged. When ICBC conducted its usual investigation protocol for the accident, it found a different account of events. The other driver involved in the accident told the insurance company that Gill had instead merged into the other vehicle’s lane and hit the vehicle. They said that due to the construction, Gill’s lane eventually needed to merge into theirs, but not at the point where the accident happened. ICBC also interviewed an independent party that had witnessed the accident. They said they “were driving behind Mr. Gill in the right lane when Mr. Gill tried to merge into the left lane and hit the other car.” They also told the insurance company that “there was nothing the other vehicle could have done to avoid being hit.” In addition to these statements, ICBC found that the damage was consistent with the account that Gill had turned into the other vehicle. Gill tried to argue his account of events by claiming that the other driver’s side mirror being flipped was evidence that they must have hit him. This argument did not hold up in court. The tribunal decided that Gill failed to prove that ICBC acted “unreasonably or improperly in investigating the accident and assigning fault.” It was also found that the $3,190.03 Gill claimed he paid in insurance premiums was the amount ICBC paid to repair the other vehicle in the accident. As such, the court dismissed Gill’s claims, and ICBC was not ordered to reimburse him.