First responders attending the scene of a serious crash on the Malahat that would prove fatal were yelled and sworn at by some impatient drivers trying to get through, according to a local fire chief.

Malahat Fire Chief Rob Patterson said the first crews to show up to the two-vehicle crash near McCurdy Drive were immediately berated by motorists concerned with getting stuck in traffic.

“I had limited crews initially. We had five people on scene and they were just getting no end of flack from the people driving by, or trying to drive through and get around the incident,” said a frustrated Patterson. “There was one couple in particular, quite vocal and quite perturbed, I guess would be the most polite way you could put it. A fair amount of foul language and arguing going on, and they were trying to horn their way through. We had to bring the police in to calm them down and get them diffused.”

Patterson said impatient drivers are the last thing crews want to deal with when a serious crash occurs, but that it happens with alarming regularity.

“This is something that no first responder agency needs to hear when they’re working on life-saving measures,” he said.

While crews have dealt with angry drivers before, Patterson said the Malahat crash was particularly bad for people taking their frustrations out on first responders.

“ They were absolutely ignorant. I’ve been to hundreds, I’d almost say thousands of crashes in my tenure here at this department. I have never, never gone through an episode like we’ve gone through tonight.”

He urged drivers to remain patient when incidents like this occur, reminding them that if it were the other way around and they were the ones in the crash, they would want the best response possible.

“If you’re stuck or you’re delayed for something like this, please have patience. Good lord, somebody’s having a way worse day than you are.”

Patterson confirmed Friday one man involved in the crash had succumbed to his injuries.

Another driver was rushed to hospital in Victoria and there is no update on their condition.