A logging truck that lost its load on a highway in Port Alberni was caught on dashcam, and the incident has one fire chief calling on commercial vehicles to slow down.
The truck was turning a corner in downtown Port Alberni when it started to flip. As it rolled, it spilled heavy logs across the roadway, narrowly missing vehicles.
"It was so close," said Beaver Creek Fire Chief Charlie Starratt, whose dashboard camera recorded the incident. "It was just absolutely pure luck that nobody was seriously hurt in that incident."
Starratt said he immediately called 911 as other passersby ran to check on the driver, with one person climbing up on the truck to pull him out.
He first noticed the truck minutes earlier, when he was approaching the intersection of Falls Road and River Road.
That's where he said he first saw the driver speeding around another corner as his back wheels left the road.
"I spoke to him, I asked him if he had realized his wheels had come off the ground coming off the bridge," said Starratt. "He said he didn't even know that had happened."
Complaints about the speed of rigs through Port Alberni are nothing new, according to the city's mayor Sharie Minions.
"There's no easy solution because it's an expensive problem, but the safety aspect of the conversation has been kind of reinvigorated," said Minions.
She said the city may look at designating certain truck routes within the city and ask RCMP to step up enforcement.
But ultimately, company owners need to encourage their drivers to be more responsible, according to Minions.
"I know that we have some local companies that hold themselves to incredibly high standards and drive very well in our city," she said. "It's certainly not the entire industry by any means."
RCMP have charged the driver with driving without due care and attention.
