Joseph Fowler and his family had no trouble driving their rental car over the Malahat from their home in Victoria on the Christmas holiday, and even the road to and from Tofino posed little challenge.
The approach to Qualicum Beach however proved tougher for the family of three, two dogs and a mountain of luggage as they were clipped by a tow truck on Highway 4.
The crash, near noon Tuesday, happened when Fowler was returning from Christmas at Tofino and was attempting to pull over to the side of the road at the entrance to Qualicum Beach.
Fowler had been planning to pull over to the right and signaled as much, he said, before changing his mind at the last second and deciding to cross the highway to the left. What he didn’t see however was a tow truck already in the process of passing him. He said he saw the truck and pulled back to the right, but the rental car he was driving was clipped in the rear end.
The resulting crash, he said, destroyed the car, which was towed from the scene.
“The car is demolished,” he said as he waited for car from the rental agency to arrive. “Budget is coming to pick us up and give us another vehicle.”
There were no injuries resulting from the crash and no charges were laid.
