Highway 1, two kilometers west of Hope, was shut down for more than 10 hours after two semis collided Wednesday night, spilling cargos of pulp and wine all over the highway.
On Jan. 8 at approximately 9 p.m. Fraser Valley Traffic Services and Hope RCMPolice Detachment responded to the report of a motor vehicle collision involving commercial vehicles approximately 2 km west of Hope on Hwy 1.
An investigation revealed that a 30-year-old Abbotsford male was operating an eastbound Kenworth semi-trailer loaded with wine on Hwy 1 when he lost control of the vehicle and drove through the center median of the highway. His vehicle continued to cross over the westbound lanes when it was struck broadside by a Freightliner semi-trailer loaded with pulp and driven by a 57-year-old male from Delta.
“Fortunately neither driver was injured in this collision,” says Cpl Robert McDonald, spokesperson for RCMP Traffic Services. “However, both vehicles sustained extensive damage, with one semi’s trailer ripped apart, by the force of the collision. And of course there was significant damage to the cargo.”
Highway 1 was shut down for over 10 hours to facilitate clean-up from this collision, re-opening at 7:15 the following morning
The driver of the Kenworth has been charged with Driving without Due Care and Attention under the Motor Vehicle Act and both vehicles are being examined by Commercial Vehicle Inspectors in an attempt to determine their mechanical worthiness prior to the collision.
Should anyone have witnessed this collision and has not spoken to the police, they are asked to contact the lead investigator Cpl Dave Ewert at the Fraser Valley Traffic Services Office at 604-702-4039.
