A man in his 40s died Saturday after a station wagon lost control on the Malahat — 24 hours after a 56-year-old woman was fatally injured near Duncan.
West Shore RCMP responded to the crash near Wellswood Road, between Goldstream Provincial Park and Mill Bay, just before 5 a.m. Saturday.
The Volvo station wagon appeared to be travelling north when it lost control and went over the concrete barriers on the right side of the road, police said.
Emergency crews found the Victoria-area man outside the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have notified his next of kin.
RCMP, Langford and Malahat fire departments and ambulance services responded to the crash. RCMP dog services, traffic analysts and a coroner are investigating.
The cause of the accident is not known.
“I think it had rained earlier in the night, but it doesn’t appear the roads were slippery,” said West Shore RCMP Cpl. Cory Bayda. There were no signs of drugs or alcohol, but a full toxicology report has not yet been completed.
“It doesn’t appear to be suspicious,” he said.
No one else was in the vehicle.
The fatal crash came 24 hours after another collision sent a 56-year-old woman to a Victoria hospital, where she died.
Just before 5 a.m. on Friday, a Duncan RCMP officer found a crash scene at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Somenos Road.
A woman was found seriously injured in the driver’s seat of a small red Nissan, located on the northbound shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway, while a grey Freightliner tractor-trailer was in the southbound lane.
Police said there was major damage to the driver’s side of the Nissan and to the tractor-trailer’s front end.
“The truck driver stated both vehicles were travelling southbound on the Trans-Canada Highway when the red car turned in front of him at Somenos Road,” Cpl. Jon Stuart said.
The woman was taken to Cowichan District Hospital, but was transferred to Victoria in critical condition. She died just before 9 p.m. Friday.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 41-year-old Duncan-area man, was also taken to hospital for examination.
The B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP are investigating both collisions.
— With a file from The Province
