The driver of a Toyota pickup truck involved in a hit and run on Highway 19 at the Jubilee Parkway intersection this morning has been arrested by police.
“At approximately 5:40 this morning we received a call of two-vehicle collision on the Inland Island Highway at Jubilee Parkway,” Const. Dave Dormuth of the RCMP’s North Vancouver Island traffic Services said. “First members that arrived on scene noticed that there was only one vehicle on scene.”
A Volkswagen compact car had come to rest on its roof in the ditch approximately 50 metres north of the Highway 19 and Jubilee Parkway intersection after rolling several times.
At 11 a.m., investigators located a 2000 Toyota Tundra with front end damage parked in a driveway at Fearon Road in the Oyster River area, Staff Sgt. Troy Beauregard of the Campbell River RCMP said in a press release. A 41-year-old female resident was arrested at the residence. She is also the registered owner of the vehicle.
“What we’ve been able to piece together, so far, that this vehicle behind me the Volkswagen was northbound on the Inland Island Highway and a Toyota pickup has left the scene unfortunately,” Const. Dormuth said at the accident scene this morning.
Police didn’t know at the time whether that vehicle, which was southbound, made a left turn onto Jubilee Parkway or came eastbound from the Campbell River airport through the intersection.
“Either way, it impacted the Volkswagen behind me directly on the driver’s side causing that vehicle to lose control and roll several times,” Const. Dormuth.
The exact sequence of events of the collision are a part of the investigation.
The driver of the Volkswagen was the only occupant of that vehicle and was taken to Campbell River Hospital with life-threatening injuries. His injuries, however, proved to be too severe and he was pronounced deceased as a result of the collision, Beauregard said.
A witness called the RCMP around 5:40 this morning saying they had seen a vehicle further down Jubilee Parkway with severe damage. The witness then came upon the Volkswagen in the ditch immediately after that.
John Wall, his wife Kim and sister Tara Norris were the first people on the scene just after 5:30 a.m. They had seen the pickup truck on the side of the road earlier and Wall thought that vehicle had hit a deer. Wall then pulled up to the intersection and saw the Volkswagen on its roof.
“I ran to the car and was just about to yell, asking if anyone was there and I heard the man yelling ‘help me,'” Wall told the Campbell River Mirror. “And when I got to the other side of the car, his hand was pinned under his sunroof and his leg was pinned under the car. His jacket was over his face. I removed it so I could see his face and told him help was on the way and he kept screaming please help me. Get me out of here.”
Another person stopped by and Wall’s wife called 911. He pulled the driver out of the car and he and the other witness helped push the car up so the driver could get his leg out. They then waited for the ambulance to arrive.
The Campbell River RCMP have committed a number of resources to the investigation and would like to speak to anyone who may have any information surrounding the vehicle, described as a very light brown 2000 Toyota Tundra or who may have information about the female owner.
The Highway 19 northbound lane was closed and traffic was diverted west along Jubilee to Highway 19A for more than an hour. The lane was opened again by approximately 10:30 a.m.
