Police are being tight lipped on whether a blood smeared van in Pines is connected to the death of a man found in a city alley.
Red Deer City RCMP were called to a report of a man in distress at an alley around 4:54 a.m. on Wednesday. The man was taken to hospital where he later died.
Police had a street cordoned off in Normandeau.
The Calgary RCMP Major Crimes Unit were called in to help with the investigation.
Around the same time, one Pines resident looked out his window to see something out of the ordinary unfold on Page Avenue near Pamely Avenue. The resident did not give his name.
“I just looked out the window and saw the van roll up slowly,” he said. “It was eerie.”
The man said he walked away from the window and when he returned a few minutes later the white cube van had plowed into a car. He did not want to speculate on what happened.
The white cube van had what appeared to be blood smeared on the driver’s side near the back tire. It appeared to have rammed into a small car.
Details are few as police are continuing to investigate. A section of Page Street was taped off for most of the day as police went door to door to talk to residents.
There was heavy police presence in both neighbourhoods throughout the day.
Pines resident Vickie Lee said she didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. She was surprised to see the police tape down the street from her home.
“No gunshots,” said Lee. “Usually we hear gun shots every once in awhile, but we didn’t hear anything. You know what, a lot of trouble happens here because of the Pines, the woods … It’s getting really sketchy in there. I wouldn’t go in there at night.”
K” Division RCMP Cpl. Hal Turnbull said investigators are not ruling out the possibility that they are connected. More information is expected by Thursday morning.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com