A cascade of events Tuesday morning caused multiple collisions in Sidney in both directions on Highway 17 near its intersection with Weiler Avenue, leaving several vehicles, including an RCMP vehicle, damaged.
Sidney Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brett Mikkelsen said the first collision happened when a vehicle travelling northbound left the highway.
“It sounds like a fellow had a medical emergency, or some sort of issue, and left the highway northbound,” he said. In doing so, the vehicle damaged signage and light poles running along a pedestrian path. “I’m told he narrowly missed a pedestrian, who is very fortunate.”
This collision triggered a response by emergency crews, including Sidney/North Saanich RCMP. A second vehicle travelling southbound then hit a parked, unoccupied RCMP vehicle that was responding to the first collision on the other side of the highway. Mikkelsen said that collision resulted in the “secondary, perhaps more serious incident” which he described as a “high-speed collision” with a “significant impact.”
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Finally, two vehicles travelling northbound collided underneath the pedestrian overpassing linking the eastern section of Weiler Avenue with its western portion, with the cause being “traffic congestion, and of course, a little bit of impatience,” said Mikkelsen.
Both the first driver with the unconfirmed medical emergency and the driver who hit the police vehicle were conscious when crews arrived and were transported to hospital Mikkelsen said.
North Saanich Fire Department assisted Sidney Volunteer Fire Department, which earlier that morning had responded to a gas leak, with Central Saanich Fire Department on standby to cover the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula.
RCMP on scene did not report any injuries and the Peninsula News Review has reached out for additional comments.
All three collisions happened just before and after 11 a.m. and caused delays in both directions on the highway.
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