A tow truck driver is lucky to be alive after a motorist crashed into the back of a vehicle he was preparing to tow.
View Royal Fire crews were called to the 1900-block of the Trans-Canada Highway near Thetis Lake at approximately 3:45 a.m. last Friday (March 10), after a motorist slammed into a parked vehicle that was already hooked up to the tow truck. The vehicle was being towed as a result of a previous police incident.
“The driver of the tow truck was extremely lucky that he wasn’t seriously injured or killed by the vehicle,” said View Royal FireChief Paul Hurst. “This is an important reminder that drivers need to pay close attention when approaching accident scenes.”
He reminded the public that the law requires all motorists to slow down when passing emergency crews or two or more vehicles on the side of the road.
The Friday morning crash was one of 25 emergency calls View Royal Fire responded to between March 6 and 13, with situations ranging from drug overdoses to cooking fires.
Shortly after 9:15 a.m. Monday, crews were called to the TCH between Helmcken and McKenzie after a dump truck was reported to be on fire. Once on scene, crews determined the rear section of the truck was smoking because of a seized brake system and not a fire.
Firefighters responding to the Choices Transitional Home on Talcott Road at approximately 8:15 p.m. on March 8 determined a fire had occurred in one of the residential units, caused by unattended cooking on a stove top. The fire had been extinguished prior to crews arriving, but the building still needed to be cleared of smoke before residents could venture inside.
Over the course of the week, View Royal Fire Rescue also responded to three illicit drug overdoses. Two were believed to be a result of fentanyl mixed with heroin, while the other was due to cocaine use, according to Hurst.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com