That's precisely what I was thinking, Edders, and to that extent wondered if the incident was actually job, or whether it was unrelated but he just happened to be badged - the article doesn't specifically say.
He could have been a tradesman in a 'work
s van' (works van rather than work van sounds a bit more like a proper van used by a tradesman), and maybe just a part-time driver.
On the other hand, here in NE Fife it's not uncommon to hear multi-seater taxis referred to as a 'van', particularly those more van-like in appearance, or one derived from a van (like the old VW Caravelle or Transporter).
For example, "I had some American golfers in the van last night", or "I've got an airport run booked for the van later on".
So 'van' might be local parlance for a multi-seater taxi in the area where the incident happened.
A 'people carrier' or MPV is called a minivan in the USA, so hardly a surprise if that was shortened simply to van.
Seat describes its Alhambra people carrier as a minivan here:
https://www.seat.com/seat-cars/minivans