Two drivers are lucky to have walked away without serious injury after a nighttime crash on a notorious corner in West Vancouver.
At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, West Vancouver police responded to a reported collision on the 3700 block of Marine Drive.
Officers found a white Hyundai Santa Fe down the embankment off the roadway, stuck on the rocks at the ocean’s edge with the driver still inside. A second vehicle, a Mitsubishi RVR, was sitting on the roadway above. Its driver was treated for minor injuries.
West Vancouver Fire & Rescue secured the Santa Fe and rescued the driver, who was uninjured, police said.
A police investigation determined the driver of the Santa Fe was travelling west on Marine Drive when they crossed the centre line and struck the Mitsubishi heading the opposite direction, according to WVPD spokesperson Sgt. Chris Bigland.
The Santa Fe driver tried to correct the vehicle’s trajectory but ended up crashing it through the barrier at the edge of the road and careening down the rockface, Bigland said.
Speed, drugs and alcohol are not considered factors in the collision, he said.
“We believe that the driver of the Santa Fe fell asleep at the wheel leading to the collision and that their actions after the collision were the primary contributor to the vehicle leaving the road,” Bigland said, adding that no charges are being considered.
The crash could have had a much more serious outcome, he added.
“We are thankful for the work of the District of West Vancouver staff and West Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service personnel for their contribution to a safe resolution,” Bigland said. “It is also important to acknowledge that both drivers fully co-operated with police, which afforded us a clear picture of what occurred in a timely fashion.”
District staff have since returned the roadway to a safe condition, he said.
The strip of road where the crash happened is known to locals as “suicide bend.” The relatively narrow, two-lane roadway is a blind corner on the side of a rockface. It’s been the site of a number of serious collisions over the years.
Most recently, a two-vehicle crash on the corner in May sent a car into the ocean. Two people in that vehicle suffered only minor injuries.
