Emergency crews were on scene on the Nanoose hill Monday morning (March 26) after a vehicle travelling southbound on Highway 19 rolled down the embankment, sending one motorist to hospital.
Sgt. Darrin Ramey with the Central Vancouver Island Traffic Services said emergency crews were called at 7:25 a.m. for a report of a vehicle that lost control and rolled over into the ditch just off the highway, near Ross Road. There was a driver and one passenger in the vehicle, according to Ramey.
Doug Penny, Nanoose Volunteer Fire Department chief, said the department helped to extricate the driver from the vehicle.
Ramey said the passenger had a minor hand injury, but the driver “was pinned in the vehicle” with a moderate head injury.
The driver was transported to the weigh scale near Parksville, where an air ambulance was waiting. Ramey said the air ambulance didn’t take off immediately as paramedics were “looking at him (the driver) for quite a while.”
Ramey said RCMP was on scene afterward, investigating the accident.
“We’re looking at the reason why vehicle went off road (on the) right. We’re thinking it might have hydroplaned where water had pooled,” Ramey said. “That’s what we’re looking into. We’re looking into everything but that’s what it’s pointing to.”
Southbound traffic was restricted to a single lane during the extraction and investigation.
— NEWS Staff