After speaking with several witnesses and the drivers involved, investigators believe a van driving west with two adults inside crossed over the centre line and collided with an oncoming semi-trailer, sending the truck off the road. The female passenger in the van was ejected onto the roadway. A westbound pickup truck then collided with the van. The woman, the driver of the pickup truck and the driver of the semi-trailer suffered serious injuries. The pickup driver was airlifted to hospital in Victoria and the other two were taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital by ground ambulance. The driver of the van had minor injuries and was also taken to the Nanaimo hospital.
VICTORIA Three people were rushed to hospital with serious injuries after a crash along the Duke Point Highway Tuesday morning. Nanaimo RCMP say that three vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred around 7:40 a.m. on the Duke Point Highway, roughly one kilometre from the Highway 1 intersection. Police say the preliminary investigation suggests that a westbound minivan, occupied by two adults, crossed over the highway’s centre line and collided with an eastbound semi-truck. The crash caused a female passenger in the van to be ejected through the vehicle’s windshield, while the semi-truck drove off the roadway into a ditch.