Three vehicle collisions occurred over the Labour Day long weekend, keeping emergency crews busy.
Port Alberni RCMP responded to a two-vehicle crash at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2.
A brown Nissan pickup truck collided with blue Cadillac Deville at the intersection of River Road and Beaver Creek Road.
The pickup rolled twice before coming to a stop on the side of the road. The driver of the truck climbed out of the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. Bystanders chased after the man but were unable to catch him. The man is described as Caucasian, five feet, 10 inches, brown hair, wearing white and blue shorts and no shirt.
The driver of the Cadillac was uninjured. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and were towed.
While members were investigating this hit-and-run collision, a second collision occurred mere meters away. As the traffic moved slowly along River Road in the area of the initial crash scene, a driver of an eastbound GMC Tracker thought he’d try and avoid the area. Seeing the emergency lights and slow moving traffic in his lane, the driver decided to turn left onto Heath Road. Even though the driver had slowed to a stop and signalled his intention, the 52-year-old Port Alberni driver failed to see an approaching westbound motorcycle and turned left immediately in front of it.
The-52-year old Port Alberni motorcycle rider, who luckily was already travelling quite slowly, was forced to brake suddenly, causing him to skid for several feet before hitting the front fender area of the Tracker. The rider sustained moderate but non-life threatening injuries and was transported to hospital by ambulance. The occupants of the Tracker were uninjured.
On Monday, Sept. 4 at 10:15 p.m., Port Alberni RCMP responded to a single vehicle crash just east of Sutton Pass on Pacific Rim Highway 4.
A 70-year-old woman from Israel, along with a 43-year-old passenger, was travelling west along Highway 4 when the vehicle drifted off the road to the right. The black Nissan Sentra she was driving hit a cement barricade bouncing the car back into the lane of travel where it came to a stop. Both occupants received minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to hospital.
