WATCH: The second fatal motorcycle crash on Vancouver Island this week happened at Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood Thursday evening. April Lawrence reports.
Just after 7 p.m. Thursday emergency responders were called to Ocean Boulevard in Colwood after a crash between a motorcycle and a car.
The motorcycle rider, 39-year-old Jason March, was killed. His family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help his daughter come to Victoria to say goodbye.
Police believe the car was turning left at the time. And they say the speed of the motorcycle is being looked at as a potential factor.
Allyson Mayo visits Esquimalt Lagoon every day and says almost everyone drives too fast.
“I think people just see that straight away and for some reason, that’s directly connected to the pressure on that gas pedal,” she said.
There have been at least 11 motorcycle fatalities on Vancouver Island so far this year.
“It’s way up this year, and even across B.C.,” said Bill McLaughlin with the Vancouver Island Safety Council. “People do take chances and a lot of these are excessive speeding,” he said.
Just this week a 29-year-old man was killed when his motorcycle went off Strathcona Parkway on Mount Washington.
And two days after that a motorcycle rider received life-threatening injuries after crashing on Gorge Road in Victoria.
“Of all the ones I’ve heard of and seen on the island this year, they were 100 per cent preventable crashes,” said McLaughlin.
McLaughlin says if a motorcycle is going too fast, there isn’t enough time to react.
“If you’re in an accident there’s obviously a much higher chance you’re going to be injured or killed you need to be aware of that so give yourself the space to react to that,” he said.
While police continue to investigate Thursday night’s crash at Esquimalt Lagoon some say changes are needed.
“I don’t know what they could do other than putting in a whole bunch of speed bumps which can again create its own problem,” said Mayo.
April Lawrence
