The accident happened around 3 p.m. on Happy Valley Road near Neild Road and according to tow truck driver Dave LeQuesne, it was a call he had never experienced before. “I’ve seen double caps, but I’ve never seen double caps that are in a creek or very close to a creek or standing up near a creek,” LeQuesne, owner of Westshore Towing Ltd., told CHEK News. “I would say both cars are a total loss.” West Shore RCMP say a driver traveling southbound on Happy Valley lost control and crossed into the oncoming lane, colliding with a northbound driver. “It was raining really hard at the time and that corner is known for vehicles going off the road into the creek,” LeQuesne said. “It’s not the first time there, I think it’s probably the third or fourth. But it’s the first time we’ve pulled two cars out of the river at the same time.” Both drivers were ejected from their vehicles and while one refused medical treatment by paramedics, the other was taken to hospital with minor injuries, RCMP say. In a statement to CHEK News, BC Emergency Health Services says two ambulances were dispatched to the scene and that one patient was taken to hospital “in stable condition.” LeQuesne, who posted photos of the vehicle damage on his company’s Facebook page, says that along with police and paramedics, the Metchosin Fire Department also responded to the crash. “When we arrived, and I believe before the fire department arrived, everyone was out of their vehicles and at the top of the road,” he said. “The silver car was completely submerged upside down, it could have been a very different story if the person had been trapped. He was completely submerged upside down in the center of the creek. The other car, the yellow car, was backed up against the trees that were standing up.” The story continues below In recent weeks, LeQuesne has seen the volume of tow truck calls increase as the rain begins to fall, saying collisions are often caused by “the speed of the driver and the tires that are on the vehicle.” The tow truck operator says it took about two hours to get the vehicles to the road and thanked fire crews for providing a 24-foot extension ladder to facilitate the extraction process. But passers-by also helped. “There were two people that I know for sure stopped (before emergency crews arrived). I know that for sure, but it could have been more,” LeQuesne added. “I think the biggest thing is that there was a lot of help from everyone who was there. From the Metchosin Fire to the attendees, it was like a community coming together in a time of need, and many people stepped up to the plate that day. “It could have been very, very different and it wasn’t, thankfully.”
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