Crash closes Highway 1 westbound on Herrling Island

Highway 1 westbound on Herrling Island is closed to traffic due to a multi-vehicle crash on Monday morning.

The crash occurred after RCMP were called to the bottom of the hill on Highway 1 for a report of a broken down van in the left shoulder; which was a safety hazard. According to early reports, a westbound vehicle travelling in the right lane braked suddenly to avoid colliding with the stopped police car, which had its emergency lights flashing.

The sudden stop caused a second vehicle in the right lane to hit the first vehicle and propel it into the police car. A third vehicle then hit the second vehicle.

Shortly after a lumber truck tried to take evasive action to avoid the four-car pile up and ended up flipping the truck and spilling the load of lumber across the highway.

A fifth vehicle then hit the truck and debris and came to a stop. The pile up continued when a sixth vehicle, a large moving van, flipped after the driver allegedly  panicked in an attempt to avoid the collision.

Fraser Valley Traffic Services is on the scene managing the cleanup.

Mounties said there are several contributing factors to the accident which include: location, weather affecting the road conditions and speed.

The road is not expected to reopen until sometime between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.