Victoria police are investigating after a truck travelling north on Blanshard Street crossed the grassy median and struck a car in the southbound lanes around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
The pickup landed on its roof just before the intersection at Bay Street.
A severely damaged black Toyota Yaris was on the sidewalk outside the Wendy’s restaurant. The occupants of both vehicles were taken to hospital but Victoria police had no information on the severity of their injuries.
Nearby resident Angela Bording didn’t see the crash but went to the scene after hearing sirens “for five minutes straight.” She arrived as officers began sealing off the busy intersection with yellow crime scene tape.
People who witnessed the accident told Bording that two people were extricated from the truck and quickly taken to hospital. The woman driving the Yaris appeared unhurt, she said.
An Island Farms employee said he’d seen the grey truck airborne before it crossed the median and rolled. The truck hit one of the trees on the median. Debris was spread over the southbound lanes.
Both Bay and Blanshard streets were shut down for several blocks in both directions, causing traffic chaos in the downtown core. Traffic on both Quadra Street and Cook Street was gridlocked as a result of the closure.
Northbound lanes on Blanshard reopened at 3:35 p.m. but southbound lanes remained closed.
