Emergency crews, including an air ambulance, were on Highway 99 in South Surrey Friday morning, for a one-vehicle incident near the pedestrian overpass north of 24 Avenue.
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The incident occured just after 8:30 a.m., and a Vancouver woman in her twenties – the driver of the sedan involved – was airlifted to hospital, officials confirmed.
Surrey Fire Services assistant Chief Chris Keon told Peace Arch News the incident was a single-vehicle collision in which “the car ran (off the highway and) into a tree.”
Const. Mike Halskov of BC RCMP Traffic Services said Monday the driver suffered “pretty significant injuries, but not life-threatening at this time.”
He noted the vehicle involved was an older model that was not equipped with airbags.
The weather – it was raining heavily at the time – is suspected to have been a contributing factor, Halskov said.
“Despite the incline (of the highway)… there was quite a lot of water pooling,” he said, noting “it doesn’t take much” water on the road for a vehicle to hydroplane.
The highway was temporarily blocked to southbound traffic, reopened just after 9:30 a.m., after the air ambulance lifted off from the road.
During the highway closure, southbound traffic backed up as far as the 152 Street overpass.
