Heavy fog was a contributing factor in a fatal crash on Highway 1 in Langley that killed an Abbotsford man early Tuesday morning.
RCMP have named Mandeep Singh Aujla, 30, as the driver killed in the fiery crash.
The eastbound lanes of the highway remained closed between 232 and 264 Streets for hours while RCMP investigated.
The RCMP Port Mann Freeway Patrol report that the crash took place about 3:50 a.m. The initial investigation indicates the driver of the Toyota RAV4 was travelling eastbound along Highway 1 when it slammed into the rear of a construction vehicle which was parked in the passing lane of the highway.
The SUV burst into flames and the driver, who was the lone occupant, sustained fatal injuries.
The construction vehicle was parked on the highway with all emergency equipment in operation, said RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen.
The two-man crew had just exited their truck and didn’t sustain any physical injuries. Roadwork along that portion of Highway 1 has been underway for months, as the freeway is being widened from two to three eastbound lanes.
Contributing factors to the crash appear to be speed relative to road and weather conditions, as there was dense, heavy fog in the area of the collision.
“It is 100 km/hr in that portion of the freeway, but the fog was dense and drivers should always adapt their speed relative to the conditions,” said Freeway RCMP Sgt. Roland Peirschke.
There have been suggestions that the construction crew working there ignored requests to move their vehicle off the highway because of the dangers the foggy conditions posed.
The B.C. Flagging Association has suggested that given the foggy conditions, there should have been proper signage, cones leading up to the active construction area and warning flags.
The crash is now under the investigation of WorkSafe BC as well as the RCMP.
“We will look at everything,” said Peirschke. “Our goal is always harm reduction. If we can look at ways of preventing these kind of tragic outcomes, we will.”
He said a reconstruction of the crash was already done on Tuesday.
Anyone who may have witnessed this crash and has not spoken to the RCMP is asked to call the Port Mann Freeway Patrol at 604-526-9744.
