Merritt city councillor Claire Newman killed in hit-and-run crash

A Merritt city councillor has died in an apparent hit-and-run crash near Valemount.

The City of Merritt announced on its website Wednesday that Coun. Claire Newman was hit by a vehicle and killed while travelling to see family on Tuesday.

Valemount RCMP confirmed on Wednesday that a 46-year-old woman from Merritt was found dead down an embankment on Highway 16 near Lucerne Lake just after midnight Wednesday.

Police responding to an automated cellphone crash notification found Newman in the ditch near a running, unlocked Nissan Frontier with a dog inside, said RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson. It appeared she had been hit by another vehicle after getting out of the pickup.

No other vehicles were in the area, but investigators found a headlight assembly from a 2016 to 2018 grey Jeep Cherokee at the scene. Police are encouraging the driver to come forward.