Nanaimo Parkway reopens after crash involving semi trucks

Two semi trucks collided on the Nanaimo Parkway and one driver was seriously injured.

Nanaimo RCMP say the crash happened about 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, May 5, in the northbound lanes of the parkway just north of the Northfield Road intersection.

The collision happened when the tractor of one of the trucks contacted the right rear of the trailer of the second truck. RCMP collision analysts are trying to determine what caused the two truck to make contact.

Police have confirmed a 35-year-old woman driving one of the trucks was transported to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The 71-year-old male driver of the other truck was not injured. He remained at the scene and co-operated with investigators.

Both northbound lanes were closed while investigators examine the scene. Northbound traffic on the parkway was detoured at the Jingle Pot Road and Third Street intersection and motorists were asked to avoid the area. Southbound parkway traffic was not impacted. Both trucks have since been towed from the scene for mechanical inspections and the parkway was reopened Wednesday afternoon.

O’Brien said the RCMP have received dash cam video from witnesses, but are asking any drivers who have additional footage to send it in by calling the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 and quote file No. 2021-16244.

There were 29 crashes at the intersection of Northfield Road and the Nanaimo Parkway in 2019, which was the 14th-highest total in the city that year, according to the most recently available ICBC statistics. For the five-year period from 2015-2019, the intersection saw 178 crashes, 11th most among Nanaimo’s intersections.

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Nanaimo News Bulletin