Highway 1 through Burnaby, B.C., reopened Tuesday afternoon, nearly 10 hours after it was closed westbound due to a serious multi-vehicle collision.
The highway was closed westbound from Gaglardi Way to Kensington Avenue from around 3 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m.
Burnaby RCMP initially said five vehicles were involved in the collision, BC Highway Patrol later said “at least four vehicles.”
Five people received medical attention including three with serious injuries requiring hospitalization, Highway Patrol said.
“This investigation is in its early stages, but it appears that at least two serious injuries happened after the initial collision when people were outside of their vehicles,” Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol said in a statement.
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“Please remember that any pedestrians are extremely vulnerable around roadways, even and especially when people are trying to help after a collision.”
B.C. Emergency Health Services said seven ambulances with primary care paramedics, advanced care paramedics, and a supervisor attended the scene.
Video from the scene showed a Toyota sedan with a badly damaged front end and its passenger door on the ground.
Other vehicles were seen stopped on the side of the road.
While it is early in the investigation, at this time impairment is not believed to be a contributing factor, police said. However, the weather conditions were poor and speed has not been ruled out as a factor.
Traffic in the area was heavily backed up for hours and drivers were being asked to leave extra time and pack their patience.
“We very much empathize with how frustrated people are when the roads are closed,” McLaughlin said. “We’re drivers, too. Our obligation is to make sure we investigate this properly. This particular collision was extremely serious. There was debris and evidence in every single lane of westbound traffic. That’s why we have to be extra careful, shut the road and figure out what happened.”
BC Highway Patrol is looking for witnesses or dash cam of what happened.
“In the meantime, we want to avoid more of these serious collisions,” Cpl. McLaughlin added.
“It’s extra-important at this time of year that we all slow down to well below the speed limit when conditions are this poor.”
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