Update: British Columbia Highway 5 is now open to southbound traffic.
A Drive BC tweet warned motorists to expect delays and asked them to obey traffic control personnel.
The Coquihalla Highway was closed to southbound traffic from Friday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash near Box Canyon that left one person seriously injured.
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One person was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries following a major multi-vehicle crash on the Coquihalla Highway Friday afternoon that closed the route’s southbound lanes.
“A commercial transport vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 5 apparently was unable to stop, and collided with 13 other vehicles,” Const. Melissa Wutke, spokeswoman for BC RCMP Traffic Services, said Friday evening. “Fortunately, there have not been any fatalities. One person has been airlifted to hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries.”
She said the accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. Motorists should check for updates on the highway’s status on Drive BC.
Earlier, B.C. Emergency Health Services spokeswoman Pamela Gole said 11 ambulances attended the scene and six other people were transported to hospital, all in stable condition.
Witnesses said a semi-truck appeared to lose control going down a hill between Merritt and Hope, with a long line of cars stopped ahead for roadwork .
“There was wrecked vehicles all over, people all over the road. It was just a mess,” CFJC Today quoted Norm Draeger as saying.
Courtney Starheim was travelling in the opposite direction of the crash and said she could smell the brakes of the truck, and others inside her vehicle commented on it.
“There was no way that semi would have been able to safely stop before the stopped traffic,” she said.
The accident happened near Box Canyon. The Ministry of Transportation has had southbound lane closures scheduled all week along nearly 10 kilometres of the highway from the Box Canyon chain area to Exit 202.
“We’d like to thank the motoring public for their patience and understanding as getting the injured to hospital was our first priority,” added Wutke, noting that Ministry of Transportation and Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) officers were on the scene inspecting the commercial vehicle.
With files from The Canadian Press
![Hwy 5, near Box Canyon Rest Area, looking south.]()
- Hwy 5, near Box Canyon Rest Area, looking south.
![Hwy 5, near Box Canyon Rest Area, looking south.]()
- Hwy 5, near Box Canyon Rest Area, looking south.
