PARKSVILLE, B.C. -- A 75-year-old man remains in hospital following a serious single-vehicle crash Monday in Parksville.
The crash occurred shortly after 3 p.m. when a man driving a Toyota RAV4 rolled the vehicle several times while southbound along the Inland Island Highway.
According to Cpl. Jesse Foreman of Oceanside RCMP, there were several witnesses to the crash who fortunately stopped at the scene.
"Witnesses that were behind him said that just all of a sudden, abruptly, the vehicle left the roadway to the right after doing a little bit of a swerve and then rolled several times," Foreman said. "There was no intoxication or anything like that."
According to Errington Fire Chief Troy Bater, paramedics were already on scene when he arrived and began traffic duties along the busy highway.
Parksville firefighters extricated the driver who was then transported by air ambulance from the scene.
"The roof was collapsed and we're not sure how many times he rolled," Bater said. "But he rolled a couple so the roof was collapsed and we could not get him out the doors so we just had to open up the roof to make it a little easier."
The crash happened just south of the Coastal Fire Centre along the highway. Nearly three hours later RCMP members were still at the site analyzing the vehicle.
The driver, from Fanny Bay, remains in Vancouver General Hospital and police are still investigating whether the crash was caused by a health problem or an issue with the vehicle.
