UPDATE: Nov. 21, 10:30 a.m.
The driver of a flipped vacuum truck has been issued a ticket for driving without due care and attention, police say.
On Friday, flipped vacuum truck on the Mountain Highway overpass in North Vancouver caused significant rush hour traffic delays for vehicles approaching the Second Narrows Bridge.
At 12:18 p.m., a McCrae’s Environmental Services truck was travelling southbound on Mountain Highway and flipped onto its side while coming to the bend near the southbound Highway 1 off-ramp, said Const. Mansoor Sahak of North Vancouver RCMP.
The truck landed on its side across the northbound lanes, totalling the industrial truck while two other vehicles sustained minor damage, Sahak said.
The truck driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Sahak added.
Following the crash, Northbound traffic on Mountain Highway was closed until late Friday evening. The roadway re-opened by 7 p.m. that night, according to Drive BC.
ORIGINAL: Nov. 17, 1:40 p.m.
A vehicle incident on the Mountain Highway overpass in North Vancouver has closed northbound traffic.
The incident, which involved an industrial truck flipped onto its side in the northbound lane, happened at around 1:11 p.m. on Friday, according to Drive BC.
“Expect major delays,” the provincial road information service told drivers after reporting the incident, noting that a detour is not available. The incident led to significant delays southbound on Highway 1 and eastbound on Main Street, as traffic headed for the Second Narrows Bridge was diverted.
As of 3 p.m., the lane was still closed, with Drive BC advising that an assessment was in progress.
Following the incident, police and fire vehicles rushed to the scene. An ambulance was at the site of the incident as well, but police have not yet said if anyone was injured or taken to hospital.
The vehicle involved in the crash was a vacuum tanker truck from McCrae’s Environmental Services. The truck was flipped onto its left side, spread diagonally across the northbound lane.
The site was littered with broken glass, loose hose and other debris, as a brown liquid leaked from a tube on the truck onto the roadway below. Fire crews worked to clean the scene, spreading absorbent powder on the road.
Nearby resident Karen Cannon said she felt the impact from her home.
“[I heard] a lot of twisting metal,” she said. “It went on for a bit and then a huge bang.”
When Cannon came down to see what happened, she said drivers were getting out of their cars, and fire extinguishers were being used.
Shortly after the crash, a white sedan could be seen stopped just feet away from the flipped truck. That vehicle has since been cleared.
