Wind a ‘major factor’ in BC truck crash caught on camera: police

Authorities said wind was a “major factor” in a camera crash on B.C.’s Trans-Canada Highway on Monday.

RCMP highway patrol officers were called to Highway 1 in Chilliwack around 1 p.m. to reports that a transport truck had “crashed into the median,” according to spokesperson Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in an email to CTV News, adding that the driver, who was the only person in the truck, was not injured.

Video posted to social media shows the truck driving along the busy route, falling on its side – narrowly missing another car – before landing in the central reservation.

Police said no other vehicles were hit.

“Our investigation indicates that the weather, and specifically the wind, was a significant factor in the loss of control of the semi-trailer,” McLaughlin wrote.

“As a result, the driver will not be charged under the Motor Vehicles Act.”

The crash occurred in the middle of a storm that toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers on B.C.’s south coast. Wind gusts in Chilliwack peaked at 85 km/h, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The strongest winds were recorded on Vancouver Island, where 100 km/h were exceeded in some locations.