Fatal motorcycle crash leaves travellers stranded on Sea-to

Fatal motorcycle crash leaves travellers stranded on Sea-to-Sky Highway overnight

Police watchdog investigating after crash leaves woman dead

Hundreds of people were stranded on British Columbia's Sea-to-Sky Highway overnight, where a motorcycle crash left one woman dead and prompted a lengthy closure.

The crash happened near the Deeks Creek Bridge, about an 18-kilometre drive north of Horseshoe Bay, around 5:30 p.m. PT.

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The highway did not reopen until around 2 a.m. PT, prompting some travellers to sleep in their cars, and others to seek out motels and campsites in the Squamish area — or even set up camp on the roadway.

In a news release, B.C. RCMP said Highway Patrol officers who were conducting speed enforcement spotted a pair of motorcyclists that were "reportedly speeding and driving erratically."

"The officer left their position along the highway and moments later located one of the motorcyclists who was involved in a collision with a recreational vehicle," RCMP said.

"The female motorcyclist was declared deceased at the scene."

B.C. Emergency Health Services said it deployed two ground ambulances and one air ambulance to the scene, but did not transport anyone to hospital.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO), which probes all deaths or incidents of serious harm that may have been the result of the actions or inactions of a police officer, is investigating and is expected to provide an update later on Monday.

The B.C. Coroners Service is conducting its own investigation.

Witness Aimee King says she was driving southbound on the highway about 2.4 kilometres north of where the crash occurred when two motorcyclists passed her in the left lane.

"I had moved right and they flew by and to the point that me and my daughter both commented on [that] they were going quite fast," she told CBC News.

"It was about 45 seconds later that we came upon the scene of the fatal accident."

King said two other motorcyclists were driving in the left lane behind her when a police vehicle passed her.

The incident was captured on dashcam video obtained and verified by CBC News, which shows a police vehicle passing with lights and sirens activated.

"The police officer actually moved to pass them on the right, and almost took out one of the bikers that were trying to get out of the police officer's way," she said.

"And that's when I went, 'Oh my goodness, this is an unsafe pursuit.'"

Brittany Michalchuk was on her way home to Vancouver when she got caught in the closure, and began taking pictures.

She said some people were able to make a U-turn to head back to Squamish to find somewhere to stay, but many vehicles were trapped by a cliff face on one side and a concrete barrier on the other.

“It took me an hour to rollerblade to the front of the line.... There were elders, there were mothers that were nursing, people had to catch flights," she said.

“I saw people playing card games, I saw people setting up full dinner tables. These were a lot of campers, right? They had picnic essentials, they had foldable tables, they had tents. A lot of people were biking.”

Akshita Narula said the incident left her and her four- and seven-year-old children stranded for about eight hours.

The family had not packed extra food or water, but thankfully were able to share with other travellers.

"Most of the people were coming back from camping, so they had some supplies, but yeah, we didn't have really anything to do, so [my kids] were just crying," she said.

Narula said there was no internet service and no communication from officials on site about what was happening or how long the wait would be. She said officials should have also helped with water or supplies.

"Emergencies do happen, it's just like they could have done more with how they handled it," she said.

West Vancouver-Sea to Sky Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote said serious crashes on the Sea-to-Sky Highway have become far too common.

He called for safety improvements to the highway itself, along with increased enforcement against reckless drivers.

"The Sea-to-Sky Highway is not a joyride. It's a functional highway for locals and commuters and tourists," he said.

"It's not a play park for people who want to drive recklessly."

Valeriote also called for the RCMP to establish an Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service office in Squamish to help investigate and clear crashes more quickly.

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth described the highway as a "challenging route," and said the province is "always looking at ways in which we can improve things."

"One of the key things we try and do is ensure through Drive B.C., for example, we are able to notify people of a situation that has happened on that highway," he said.

"The other is we remind people it is a dangerous highway and to drive to the conditions and the speed limits on the road. I know there will be an investigation into the cause of what happened."

RCMP said it would not be commenting further due to the IIO investigation.

Witnesses or anyone who has video of the motorcyclists between Britannia Beach and the crash scene are asked to contact police at 604-526-9744.