A man remains in critical condition in a Victoria hospital after he was thrown from his vehicle in a rollover crash on the side of the highway in Lantzville on Sunday night.
The accident happened at about 9:30 p.m. on the Island Highway just south of Rumming Road. A northbound Volkswagen sedan went off the shoulder of the highway northbound and down an embankment, ending up on its side.
Emergency personnel said one man was taken to hospital with injuries that were unknown, but serious enough that a traffic reconstructionist was expected to attend the scene.
“The vehicle struck and sheared off a lamp standard, rolled,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. “The driver was ejected.”
O’Brien said excessive speed is one of the possible contributors to the crash being investigated based on a statement from a witness to the crash.
The driver, a 25-year-old man from “a community north of Nanaimo” was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital with “significant injuries” and then flown to a hospital in Victoria, O’Brien said.
“The driver’s still in hospital in critical condition,” he said.
RCMP Police Dog Services was also there to assist with the investigation, as it initially wasn’t known if there might have been a second occupant of the sedan.
RCMP, Lantzville Fire Rescue and B.C. Ambulance Service were on scene.
Northbound traffic was continuing to move with one lane remaining open.
The driver’s family has been notified, O’Brien said, the accident remains under investigation and no charges had been recommended by police as of Monday morning.
To read about other recent car crashes in the area, click here.
editor@nanaimobulletin.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
