Four people were transported to hospital in Victoria with non life-threatening injuries following a two-car crash on the Trans Canada Highway between Duncan and Chemainus late Sunday morning that snarled southbound traffic for hours.
In a section of the highway divided by barriers, the two vehicles collided in the southbound lanes.
Two children aged 10 and 13 were passengers in one vehicle driven by a 42-year-old Saanich female. The other vehicle was driven by a 28-year-old male from out of province, with two passengers – a male and a female, also both 28.
It was not specified which four were taken to hospital for treatment.
The incident remains under investigation, but North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP indicated there’s no evidence of any drug or alcohol consumption being a contributing factor in the collision.
Many people travelling along the highway at the time stopped to offer assistance to the injured until paramedics arrived.
“It is heart warming for First Responders to arrive on scenes such as this and find strangers lending a hand to those in need,” noted Const. Jordan Symon. “When we arrived everyone was awesome. There were people helping those involved in the crash and people were so patient while we dealt with the scene and cleared up the highway to get traffic moving again.”
The highway was completely blocked in the southbound lanes until the accident was cleared. It was several hours before traffic flow returned to normal.
Members of North Cowichan’s Crofton and Chemainus Fire Halls were also called to the scene.
The back-up southbound on the Trans Canada HIghway was long from Chemainus to Duncan Sunday afternoon. (Photo submitted)
