Fines equal less than $500 against the driver who caused a crash that sent three men to hospital, totalled three vehicles, closed the Nanaimo Parkway and tied up multiple emergency services for several hours Friday morning.
The collision happened at about 7:30 a.m. between Mostar and Aulds roads when a 24-year-old man driving a northbound 2008 Ford Ranger pickup lost control of his vehicle, which crossed the centre median, rolled, became airborne and crashed into a southbound Chevy Silverado pickup driven by a 66-year-old man and a Volkswagen Jetta driven by a 20-year-old man.
The driver who caused the accident has been charged with driving without due care which carries a fine of $368 dollars. He also provided a sample of his breath at the scene and recorded 0.055 blood-alcohol content. As a "new driver" he was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition and charged with driving contrary to the restrictions of his licence, which carries a fine of $109 dollars.
"He was driving pretty fast," O'Brien said. "We have witness statements saying he was cutting back and forth between lanes."
The driver of the Ranger and the male driver of the Silverado sustained minor injuries and were released from hospital later that day.
The 20-year-old man driving the Jetta suffered serious facial, head and pelvic injuries in the crash and will remain in hospital for an indefinite period.