A fuel truck lays on its side, with a smashed courier van nearby. The two vehicles collided on Highway 1 near Goldstream Park Thursday morning. The highway was closed until early Friday morning.
After being closed for nearly 14 hours, traffic is moving once again on Highway 1 near Goldstream Park following a two-vehicle crash on the busy route Thursday morning.
CLEAR – #BCHwy1 is now open at #Malahat summit in #GoldstreamPark. Expect delays due to congestion. #VictoriaBC #Nanaimo
— DriveBC VI (@DriveBC_VI) May 25, 2018
Just before 11 a.m., a fuel truck and a courier van collided near Finlayson Arm Road, shutting the highway down for the rest of the day while emergency crews attended the scene.
The driver of the van was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries after being trapped in the vehicle.
Two other people involved in the crash were treated by paramedics.
There was an environmental concern following the crash, with furnace oil spilling from the rear of the fuel truck and worries of it reaching the nearby Goldstream River.
The spill was contained by a hazardous materials team and the environment ministry is conducting an environmental assessment.
Traffic chaos ensued for the thousands of people using the main connector between the south and mid-Island and became stranded as a result of the crash.
#Malahat reopened for the Friday commute https://t.co/KkWqPBQKLh
— Malahat Drive (@malahatdrive) May 25, 2018
Some pulled u-turns from the standstill and joined others racing to catch a ferry to and from Mill Bay and Brentwood Bay.
Long line-ups were backed up as far as Brentwood Village, and delays for hours as people waited for the ferry that carries close to 20 vehicles.
B.C. Ferries added three additional sailings from each direction on the route, with supplementary sailings reaching full capacity and were operating an hour behind schedule.
#ServiceNotice #BrentwoodBay #MillBay #MVKlitsa supplementary sailings are at capacity, and are operating 60 minutes behind schedule: https://t.co/ALvb28zOj7 ^eb
— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) May 25, 2018
Others were trying to get to their destination through Salt Spring Island, with added sailings between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour.
There were delays for that route as terminal staff tried to safely fit as many customers on as they could.
#BCFHeadsup #FulfordHarbour #SwartzBay #SkeenaQueen 10:00pm ex Fulford and 10:35pm ex Swartz Bay added due to heavy traffic, resulting from the Highway 1 closure on Vancouver Island. ^eb
— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) May 25, 2018
There were also added sailings between Salt Spring Island and Crofton.
Investigators said it will take some time to determine what caused the crash and if charges will be laid.
Andy Neal
