A crash that sent a motorcyclist to hospital with serious injuries Tuesday night stranded a crowd of people on top of Burnaby Mountain until the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Vancouver resident Marc Roumi told the NOW he took friends who are new to Metro Vancouver to watch the sunset at Burnaby Mountain Park at about 9 p.m.
As the group was leaving the parking about half an hour later, he said they saw about four or five motorcycles "going in circles and speeding like crazy" down Centennial Way, the only route out of the park.
Moments later he said he heard a "big bang," and traffic on road came to a sudden standstill.
Once police arrived, they closed the road in both directions, trapping "a lot of cars" atop the mountain, according to Roumi.
"There were a lot of children there and a lot of people," he said.
Nobody knew what was going on, according to Roumi, and he said it took police until about 1 a.m. to inform the trapped park goers the road could be closed for another six to 12 hours.
Roumi said police told them they could walk down the Mountain and catch an Uber home, but they would only be allowed to be escorted in groups of seven.
Videos of the scene show civilians arguing with police over a barrier of police tape.
One lane was eventually opened at about 3 a.m., according to Roumi, who said he didn't get home until 4 a.m.
"We were held hostage all night," he said.
Burnaby RCMP told the NOW police were called to the scene at 9:42 p.m. for reports of a collision between a motorcycle and a Volkswagon Jetta on Centennial Way.
"The Jetta was reportedly driving northbound on Centennial Way and was making a left turn into a small parking lot on the west side of the road," said an emailed statement from the detachment. "The motorcyclist was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with the Jetta."
The motorcyclist, a 20-year-old man, sustained "very serious injuries," according to police, and was taken to hospital, but his injuries were later determined to be non-life-threatening.
The driver of the Jetta, a 22-year-old man, was also taken to hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Burnaby RCMP said Centennial Way was reopened at about 1:45 a.m.
"While the roadway was closed for a considerable amount of time, it was deemed necessary until all the evidence could be captured," said the emailed statement.
Police believe speed may have been a factor in the crash.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
