A “serious collision” that took place on the Pat Bay Highway Saturday morning prompted a police investigation and resulted in traffic being diverted for nearly three hours.
According to Saanich police, there was a crash involving a semi-truck and a semi-trailer in the southbound lane of the Pat Bay Highway at the Haliburton Road intersection at about 6:45 a.m. on July 4.
Const. Markus Anastasiades, public information officer for the Saanich Police Department, explained that police believe the collision occurred after a passenger vehicle slowed to avoid hitting a deer on the highway. The semi-truck following the passenger vehicle also slowed down but the driver of the third vehicle – another semi-truck – wasn’t able to reduce their speed in time and collided with the semi-truck.
The lead vehicle wasn’t hit and the driver of the first semi-truck was uninjured, Anastasiades said. However, the driver of the last semi-truck sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the collision.
“There was a significant debris field to clear and it took several hours to investigate and remove both semi-trucks from the highway,” he explained.
All southbound traffic was diverted onto Elk Lake Drive as officers investigated and the highway was fully reopened in both directions by 9:20 a.m.
Traffic Advisory: Hwy 17 southbound traffic is being diverted at Haliburton / Elk Lake Drive while Saanich Police investigate a serious collision. We will be on scene for at least another hour. #Saanich #yyjtraffic
— Saanich Police (@SaanichPolice) July 4, 2020
READ ALSO: Saanich police break up Canada Day gathering of nearly 200 youth in Mount Douglas Park