A taxi carrying three passengers slammed into a utility pole Friday morning, killing the 44-year-old driver, a father of two children.
Mohamed Shariff Abdi died at the scene in Victoria at Gorge Road and Bridge Street. He had three passengers, all in their 20s. Two were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The third, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to hospital with less serious injuries.
Abdi, who worked for Yellow Cab, has a six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter, his brother Khalid Shariff said in an email from Kenya.
Abdi, originally from Somalia, moved to Canada in the 1990s and to Victoria shortly afterward, his brother said.
Shariff said the last time he saw his brother was when he visited Kenya in 2008. He said his mother is devastated at his death.
David Lau, executive director of the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, said he has known Abdi for about 20 years, since Abdi came to Victoria to escape turmoil in Somalia.
Lau was Abdi’s employment counsellor. “He was a reason why I grew so fond and deeply respectful of the Somali community in Victoria. He thought about his community and was always trying ways to help other young Somalis establish well, work hard and learn to make Victoria their home. He had a very big heart and a fantastic sense of humour,” Lau said.
Whenever Abdi would see Lau while walking through Victoria, he would still thank Lau for helping him get a job.
“He returned the kindnesses he received and I know he spent much of his time assisting people every day.
“Over the years, he would help newcomers by telling them about what VICRS could do to help them, and he would drive them over. That was the kind of person he was,” Lau said.
“He had a bright smile and a deep happy laugh. He was an absolutely excellent Canadian,” Lau said.
Yellow Cab operations manager Surinder Kang said the driver was with the company for 10 years and doesn’t appear to have any driving infractions.
Kang said staff at Yellow Cab were calling all day Friday to find out who the victim was. “Everybody is concerned and they are terribly shocked about this,” he said.
The taxi slammed into a utility pole in front of the Scotsman Motel just after 2:30 a.m.
The Victoria Fire Department was on scene to extricate the driver from the vehicle.
Richard Cauldwell, who was staying at the Scotsman Motel, woke up to a loud crash. By the time he got outside, other residents were already on the street and had called 911.
Cauldwell said the front end of the car was crumpled into the utility pole “like an accordion.”
“Parts were all scattered from one end of the street to another,” he said.
A police collision reconstruction team was at the scene all morning and Gorge Road was closed until about 10 a.m.
It appears as if the taxi hit the utility pole at full speed and there were no indications the driver hit the brakes or swerved to avoid an object, said Victoria police spokesman Bowen Osoko.
“Investigators are currently determining whether speed and impairment were factors in this collision,” Osoko said.
The driver was likely nearing the end of his shift, said Kang, having started around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The B.C. Coroners Service is also investigating.
