Nanaimo RCMP are investigating speed and alcohol as possible contributing factors in a rollover crash that sent the driver to Victoria General Hospital via air ambulance.
The crash happened Tuesday at about 7:40 p.m. south of Nanaimo at the Duke Point Highway overpass when the Pontiac van the 31-year-old woman was driving flipped and landed upside down on the grass next to the northbound lanes of the Island Highway.
The front of the vehicle caught fire, but was put out by a truck driver with a fire extinguisher before emergency crews arrived.
The woman's six-year-old daughter, who was riding in a booster seat in the back of the van, managed to unbuckle herself and escape the vehicle. She was traumatized, but escaped with minor scrapes and bruises and was turned over to family members in Nanaimo.
The driver was removed from the van and flown to Victoria from Nanaimo Airport. She sustained a broken rib and other non life-threatening injuries, police said.
Traffic analysts investigated the scene for several hours and the vehicle will undergo a mechanical inspection.
Police are still investigating and no decisions have been made about possible charges against the driver.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.