'Never seen them stuck on there': Transport truck lands on highway median in Campbell River, B.C.
A commercial truck driver escaped serious injuries after the rig he was driving ended up on top of a concrete barrier Wednesday morning in Campbell River, B.C.
The southbound rig, owned by GFL Environmental out of Cumberland, B.C., wound up on the barrier that divided Highway 19 between Willis Road and 14th Avenue in Campbell River after the driver apparently experienced a medical issue.
"I talked to the driver and he was choking and trying to stay in his lane, and the truck obviously hit the 'no-post' and climbed up on there and ruptured a fuel tank," said a commercial driver who was stuck in the highway closure.
The accident shut down two northbound and two southbound lanes for several hours as crews dealt with a fuel spill along the highway and tried to figure out how to remove the rig from its unusual location.
The stuck transport truck is pictured in Campbell River, B.C. Aug 10, 2022. (CTV News)
Don Bachmier, road foreman for Mainroad Contracting’s Campbell River region, says the fuel was contained to the highway and didn’t make it into nearby drainage ditches.
"We’ve got a fuel spill that we’re responding to with the local fuel response team and we have both lanes [closed] due to that," he said. "We can’t let anybody track that fuel down the road more than necessary."
On Wednesday morning, Bachmier said the plan was to eventually open up the slow lanes in both directions before being able to fully clear the rig – an operation that was expected to take between four and eight hours at a minimum.
Removing the truck was made more difficult because the rig was located underneath power lines which crossed over the highway.
"With the power lines here we won’t be doing any lifting at all, we’re going to have to be doing some pulling with the big wrecker," he said.
The truck was empty at the time of the crash and Bachmier says the spot it ended up was highly unusual.
"I’ve never seen them stuck on there, they usually go over or through [the barrier]," he said. "I’ve never seen them stuck on the middle."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.