Two people suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries when a pickup truck pulling a small trailer went off the road and crashed in a ditch on the Trans-Canada Highway Sunday afternoon, forcing a lengthy shutdown of westbound traffic through Aldergrove.
While the cause is still under investigation, it appears the accident was the result of a mechanical problem, Cpl. Mike Halskov of BC RCMP Traffic Services said.
Halskov told the Langley Advance Times the victims were a husband and wife in their forties, both Lower Mainland residents.
He explained the lengthy shutdown was required to allow officers time to collect debris from the road to help determine what caused the crash.
“We want to gather as much evidence as possible,” Halskov said.
Highway #1 was closed westbound near 264th Street in Aldergrove shortly after 12 p.m. and did not re-open till around 6 p.m.
Two Langley Township fire vehicles were called to the scene and extricated the occupants of the truck using the jaws of life to gain access.
A pair of air ambulances were called to the scene along with multiple police vehicles and ground ambulances.
All the traffic stopped had to U-turn and drive back to Mt Lehman to exit the freeway.
Abbotsford Police and Langley RCMP assisted Port Mann freeway patrol with the traffic.
Due to a collision in Langley, #Abbotsford Police will be #closing Hwy 1 westbound at Mt.Lehman until further notice. Please avoid the area to allow emergency vehicle access and to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
— Abbotsford Police Department (@AbbyPoliceDept) May 12, 2019
UPDATE – #BCHwy1 – Closed westbound due to a vehicle incident at Mt Lehman Rd due to a vehicle incident. Expect serious delays. Consider an alternate route.#AbbotsfordBC https://t.co/QmchYpYls6
— Drive BC (@DriveBC) May 12, 2019
Police set up a detour for those stuck in the westbound lane between 264th and Mt. Lehman, blocking off the eastbound lane so drivers could turn around.
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