A RCMP officer responding to a single vehicle rollover crash in Langley Sunday morning ended up in hospital after their police SUV was rear-ended by another motorist.
Lower Mainland District RCMP Sgt. Annie Linteau says the officer’s unmarked SUV was parked on the side of Highway 1 between 232nd Street and Glover Road with its emergency lights activated – when it was struck by a Toyota Tacoma. The RCMP officer, who was awaiting a tow truck for the original rollover call, was seriously hurt. The driver of the pickup truck and its two passengers were also sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“You’d think a well lit vehicle on the side of the road and potentially traffic slowing down would be enough to warn someone an obstacle’s coming up but all too often it’s not,” said Captain Jonathan Gormick of Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services.
Since June 2009, B.C. drivers have been required to slow down and move into an outside lane, if there is one, when they see an emergency vehicle with its lights flashing at the side of the road. The law was amended in January 2015 to protect roadside workers. Motorists must now slow down for all “official vehicles” displaying a flashing red, blue or yellow light – including snow plows and construction vehicles.
Breaking the rules could net you a $173 ticket and three penalty points but according to emergency responders, that’s not enough of a deterrent for everyone. “We’re going to have to do more to reach out to the motorists to make sure they understand what the law is to keep everyone alive and not injured,” said Bronwyn Barter, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC.
“People are in a hurry and you maybe don’t read what traffic is doing. They don’t stop and think why traffic is stopping and slowing down and try to avoid it and that’s when tragedy strikes,” added Gormick.
It’s unclear why the Slow Down and Move Over regulations were not followed in Langley Sunday morning, but RCMP are investigating. It’s believed a witness may have been following the pickup truck that hit the police SUV, and RCMP are hoping that driver will come forward.
The status of the driver involved in the unrelated single vehicle rollover is unknown.
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