West Vancouver police had to shut down Cypress Bowl Road Friday evening to deal with a 10-vehicle pile-up.
Police say the chain reaction crash happened just before 7:30 p.m. on the 4900 block, one of the steeper stretches of the road, when the driver of an SUV lost control and headed for the rhubarb.
“The first vehicle hits the ditch. The second vehicle also hits the ditch apparently trying to avoid contact with the first vehicle and so on and so forth for the 10 vehicles behind,” said Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
The roadside quickly started looking like a used car lot, including a Ford Explorer, a Toyota pickup, a Chevy Blazer, a Safari minivan, a Kia SUV, a BMW sedan, a Volvo wagon, a Buick, a Ford Edge and finally, a Lincoln limousine.
Even one of the responding police officers’ all-wheel-drive, winter tire-equipped SUVs began to slide after being put in park.
“It was very, very heavy snow. Very icy conditions,” Palmer said.
Police closed down the road for half an hour while tow trucks came to retrieve the ditched vehicles.
The Bimmer driver was the only one attempting the road in summer tires, which is not allowed, Palmer added.
Though it’s arguable the drivers were following too closely or going too fast for the conditions, police likely won’t lay any charges, Palmer said. Damage ranged from minor cosmetic scratches to $10,000 in front-end damage. Police estimate the total cost of repairs at $25,000.
“Basically, everyone’s just going to be taking their lumps with ICBC,” Palmer said.
