It’s unclear what caused a multi-vehicle crash on Lougheed Highway Wednesday afternoon that sent two people to hospital.
The collision happened just after 1 p.m. at Lougheed and Production Way. Police say a Ford Explorer was travelling eastbound on Lougheed Highway when it passed through Production Way and swerved left, crashing over the centre median and into oncoming traffic.
“I was driving westbound on Lougheed, and all of a sudden I heard screeching tires and next thing I know, I see a Ford Explorer jumping the (median) and hitting the Honda and not stopping and coming right for me,” recalls Joe Vetere, whose Jeep was hit by the oncoming Explorer, flipping it on its roof.
Vetere was pulled from his vehicle by bystanders at the scene. The driver of the Honda had to be cut from her vehicle by firefighters using the jaws of life. She was taken to hospital with minor injuries. A second person, believed to be in the Explorer was also taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The driver of the Explorer alleges that as he went through the intersection a vehicle coming from his right cut into his lane and he “swerved left to avoid the collision, jumped the centre median, went into the westbound lanes, hit a second car and then struck vehicle three,” said Staff Sgt. Maj. John Buis, spokesperson for the Burnaby RCMP.
Because the investigation is ongoing, Buis couldn’t confirm if there had in fact been another vehicle in the westbound lane that had cut off the Explorer. So far, alcohol doesn’t appear to be a factor in the crash.
The westbound portion of the road was closed for some time while police conducted their investigation.
