Questions remain following Friday’s dramatic crash on Sooke Road.
The three-vehicle incident occurred just east of the Shell station in the 5500 block of Sooke Road and involved an initial crash between a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup, driven by a 75-year-old man, and a black Dodge pickup driven by a 59-year-old man.
A second crash occurred seconds later when the Silverado continued down the road and collided with a blue Hyundai Tuscon, driven by a 67-year-old woman, flipping both vehicles and causing serious injuries to both occupants.
The RCMP say accident reconstruction specialists are still trying to determine the sequence of events and are looking for witnesses to come forward.
VIDEO: Surveillance camera catches Sooke Road crash
Based on information received by the RCMP by the emergency medical teams on site, a “medical event” is believed to play a role in the crash, although the RCMP has no information on the exact nature of the medical situation.
Sooke RCMP Sgt. Clayton Weibe said it may be months before a final report is issued on the crash. He said no charges have been laid yet.
“The highway can be dangerous, but if people all followed the posted speed limit, we would have a lot fewer problems,” said Weibe, adding it’s still unknown if speed was a factor in the collision.
“It’s still under investigation,” he said.
Although the road was reopened for sporadic one lane traffic after 5:30 p.m. it was still closed at times to allow for emergency crews to do their work.
Traffic delays stretched well into the night as some residents reported that they were unable to get back into their homes in Sooke until after 11 p.m.
Drive B.C., the Ministry of Transportation website that conveys the news to the public regarding traffic delays were simply reporting that the road was open to single lane traffic and that major delays could be expected. No mention was made of the extreme nature of those delays.
#SOOKE #SD62 Parents – school buses are impacted this afternoon due to accidents on the Sooke road. So far only bus routes 9, 20, 24 routes are NOT impacted. Bus #12 will be 40 mins late. All other Sooke bus routes are and will be delayed. Schools remain open.
— School District #62 (@SD62_Sooke) September 14, 2018
Although school buses were cancelled for eastbound destinations, Sooke school district spokesperson Lindsay Vogan reported that all the children stranded at the schools were allowed to stay inside, sheltered and safe, until they could be picked up.
“We have protocols in place for this sort of thing and no child is ever going to be left out in the cold,” said Vogan.
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