VANCOUVER -- Saanich police say a deer on the roadway led to a collision between two semi-trucks on the Pat Bay Highway Saturday morning.

The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning in the highway's southbound lanes, near Halliburton Road.

In an email, Const. Markus Anastasiades, spokesperson for the Saanich Police Department, told CTV News Vancouver Island the lead vehicle in the collision was a car that slowed down to avoid a deer on the highway.

A semi-truck following the passenger vehicle was able to slow down, but another semi-truck behind it was not, and rear-ended the first truck, Anastasiades said.

The passenger vehicle was unaffected by the collision, and the driver of the first truck was not injured, according to Anastasiades. He said the driver of the second truck sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The highway was closed southbound for several hours while officers investigated the collision and crews cleared debris from the road. It reopened shortly before 10 a.m., Anastasiades said.