Two people were lucky to escape with minor injuries after a dramatic single-vehicle crash in the Greater Victoria area that was caught on security video.
It happened just before 8 p.m., Tuesday, in the 200 block of Milburn Drive in Colwood.
A speeding vehicle struck a drain at the side of the road and was launched into the air, flipping end over end and landing more than 12 metres (40 feet) away.
“Everybody who sees that video, their jaws drop. They usually say an expletive and they can not believe it’s happening here,” neighbour Brad Windsor said.
About half a dozen neighbours, including two retired paramedics, rushed out to help, Windsor said.
Windsor said there have been numerous crashes and near-misses in recent years, but that despite multiple reports the city has yet to implement sidewalks or traffic calming measures.
The crash highlights long-standing complaints from residents of Milburn Drive, who say the road leading to popular Lagoon Beach is popular with street racers.
“Milburn is distinctly dangerous for drivers because it’s not extremely well lit, it’s very well travelled, it’s a heavy commuting road, there’s lots of pedestrians … and it does wind and has steep pitches — all of those things together lead to a very dangerous road,” said Windsor.
“And when we say we have speeders here, we’re not talking 10 or 15 km over the speed limit, we’re talking 30, 40, 50 km over the speed limit.”
Neighbours are hoping that the latest, dramatic crash serves as an impetus for safety upgrades on the route.