“It was just… boom! I’m surprised I was able to turn away fast enough from the point of noticing that the car’s upside-down, flying at me.”
Those were the words of a shaken-up Tom Peters, the driver of a minivan in a dramatic three-car collision involving a Surrey RCMP cruiser on Friday.
“It was kind of like a movie scene, seeing the vehicle smash into you,” said Peters, a New Westminster resident. “I just saw it coming right at me and my instinct was to turn away and not get the glass in my face. Afterwards I was sort of in shock, you know? ‘What’s happening? What’s going on?’ “
The collision occurred Friday at approximately 1:15 p.m. at King George Boulevard and 108 Avenue.
Police say a marked police vehicle with lights and sirens on was travelling westbound on 108 Avenue when it was struck on the passenger side by a white Honda sedan heading northbound on King George Boulevard.
The subsequent collision caused the police vehicle to flip on its roof, trapping the lone male officer inside.
Peters’ vehicle, which was stopped eastbound on 108 Avenue in a left-hand turn lane, was also struck after the initial collision.
Peters said two to three police cars were travelling through the intersection on a red light with their lights and sirens on. He said he saw the police vehicles pass safely through the intersection, then looked away for brief moment.
“When I looked up again, there was a police car’s trunk aimed at my windshield and it hit the car,” said Peters.
Peters said that after the collision, he could see tail lights and other pieces of the police cruiser inside his own vehicle and was concerned for the safety of the officer when he saw the police cruiser completely inverted on its roof.
The Mountie was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The occupants of the Honda suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital as a precaution. Peters was uninjured.
The Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Services and the Criminal Collision Investigation Team are investigating the incident.
