Sunshine Coast RCMP say a 28-year-old Gibsons man is facing charges in one of two accidents he was involved in over the span of two days, and charges could also be coming in the second accident.
The first accident, characterized by RCMP as “a near fatal three-car collision,” happened around 1:40 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Highway 101 and Marlene Road in Roberts Creek.
Const. Karen Whitby said the initial report was that a driver in a large pickup was trying to stop to let an oncoming car turn left onto Marlene, but had a problem with his brakes and in manoeuvring to avoid the turning car, collided with an oncoming Fiat.
The driver and passenger in the Fiat, a man and woman in their early 70s, were both airlifted to hospital in Vancouver to be treated for fractures and the highway was closed between Marlene and Flume Road for about an hour.
Roberts Creek fire chief Patrick Higgins praised the quick-thinking of bystanders who used a fire extinquisher to quell the fire that was starting in the engine compartment of the Fiat and got one the occupants out. The other person in the car had to be cut out by fire crews and Higgins said the fact the fire was put out before emergency crews arrived may well have saved his life.
The next day, according to RCMP, the same Gibsons man who was driving the pickup in the Roberts Creek accident was arrested for impaired driving following a single-vehicle rollover crash involving a Pontiac Grand Am in the 3100 block of Highway 101.
He was released from police custody pending a court date, and RCMP said their investigations continue. They are asking anyone who has information or dash cam footage relating to either of these incidents to contact them.
