Man dies after logging truck crash near Courtenay, B.C.
A crash involving a logging truck near Courtenay, B.C., on Tuesday claimed the life of one man, CTV News has learned.
Pamela Tessman was driving near the intersection of the Comox Valley Parkway and the northbound onramp onto Highway 19 just moments after a load of logs fell off a truck, crushing a nearby pickup.
The logging truck had been turning left onto the onramp when it came upon a pickup parked at the side of the road.
While turning, the logs spilled off the truck, crushing a 43-year-old man who was beside the pickup.
"I got out of my vehicle and called 911," said Tessman.
"As I was doing that the logging truck driver got out of his truck and went to see what was happening," she said.
The crash closed the northbound onramp onto Highway 19 from Comox Valley Parkway on Tuesday. (CTV News)
A woman was also standing beside the pickup truck on the front passenger side with the truck's door open.
CTV News learned that the logs fell on top of the truck and on top of the open door, narrowly missing her.
"The door being open probably saved her from being hit," said Cumberland Fire Rescue Chief Mike Williamson.
The woman did suffer a shoulder injury and was trapped inside the truck.
"She started screaming and asking someone to help her," said Tessman.
Firefighters later extracted the woman from the vehicle.
"Normally when you come upon accidents you see the police have already arrived," said Tessman. "So to be the first one at the scene was really surreal."
The fire chief added that logging trucks have had crashes at this corner before, though it is a rare occurrence.
CRASH UNDER REVIEW
A commercial vehicle inspector and a forestry worker were at the scene of the crash Wednesday.
The logging truck involved in the crash was owned and operated by a company out of Burns Lake, B.C., and was working under contract for Mosaic Forest Management.
Mosaic said it suspended all operations on Wednesday out of respect for everyone involved.
The company added that it was deeply saddened by the crash and that it was sending its sincere condolences to everyone affected.
"I can tell you the 43-year-old man who was found deceased at the scene was from Lake Cowichan," said Const. Monka Terragni of the Comox Valley RCMP.
His identity has not been released.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.