A police investigation is underway after a collision in Metchosin left two vehicles badly damaged, including one that landed on its roof in a nearby creek and the other upright against trees.
The crash happened around 3 p.m. on Happy Valley Road near Neild Road and according to tow-truck driver Dave LeQuesne, it was a call he had never experienced before.
“I’ve seen double rollovers, but I’ve never seen double rollovers that are in a creek or very close to a creek or standing upright near a creek,” LeQuesne, owner of Westshore Towing Ltd., told CHEK News.
“I would say both cars are a total loss.”
West Shore RCMP say one driver travelling southbound on Happy Valley lost control and crossed into the oncoming lane, colliding with a northbound driver.
“It was raining very hard at the time, and that corner is known for vehicles to go off-road into the creek,” LeQuesne said.
“It’s not the first time there, I think it’s probably the third or fourth. But it’s the first time we’ve taken two cars out of the creek at the same time.”
Both drivers exited their vehicles and while one declined medical treatment from paramedics, the other was taken to hospital with minor injuries, RCMP say.
In a statement to CHEK News, BC Emergency Health Services says two ambulances were dispatched to the scene and that one patient was transferred to hospital “in stable condition.”
LeQuesne, who posted photos of the vehicle damage to his company’s Facebook page, says along with police and paramedics, the Metchosin Fire Department also responded to the collision.
“When we arrived, and I believe before the fire department arrived, everybody was out of their vehicles and on top of the road,” he said.
“The silver car was completely submerged upside down, it could have had a very different story if the person had become trapped. He was completely submerged upside down in the centre of the creek. The other car, the yellow car, was propped up against the trees standing upright.”
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In recent weeks, LeQuesne finds tow truck call volumes have been on the rise as the rain starts falling, saying collisions are often caused by a “driver’s speed and the tires that are on the vehicle.”
The tow truck operator says it took around two hours to get the vehicles to the road and thanked fire crews who provided a 24-foot extension ladder for making the extraction process easier.
But passersby helped too.
“There were two people I know for sure stopped (before emergency crews arrived). I know that for sure, but there might have been more,” LeQuesne added.
“I think the biggest thing is that there was a lot of help from everybody that was there. From Metchosin Fire to the bystanders, it was kind of like a community came together in a time of need, and a lot of people stepped up to the plate that day.
“It could have been very, very different and it wasn’t, thankfully.”
Ethan Morneau
