A business owner in B.C.’s East Kootenay says there is growing frustration about out-of-control drivers on a stretch of Highway 3 following a weekend crash that was captured on video.
Yahk General Store owner Tim Boyce says he was outside his business, located on the highway, on Sunday when a semi-trailer tipped on its side after it failed to navigate a turn.
He posted video Tuesday of the crash to social media, adding Luke Combs’ cover version of the 1988 Tracy Chapman hit Fast Car to its audio track.
“By that time in that video, he’s already gone too fast … and you can see that the trailer has already started to tip, and then that is when the trailer just flops over and then takes the truck with it,” Boyce told CBC News. “It probably dragged about 30 to 40 feet, easily.”
Boyce says the driver was uninjured.
Driving conditions were good Sunday, he said, and he believes speed was a factor in the crash.
He said he and others in the small community are alarmed by how often crashes occur in that spot, which locals refer to as “the Yahk Car Wash” because vehicles can end up in the nearby Moyie River.
“It usually happens the other way when they’re heading from west to east, and they don’t realize it’s a hairpin turn, and they just slam right off the bridge and into the river,” he said.
He shared video of another overturned semi earlier this year with CBC News.
Boyce’s wife, Skky McKay, said that growing up in the area, she remembers “accident after accident” at that location, which has a 30km/h speed limit in place.
Measures have been taken to make it safer, such as flashing lights and warning signs, McKay says, but they haven’t managed to stop the crashes.
Boyce suggests rumble strips could be installed to alert drivers. McKay would like to see a greater police presence to enforce the speed limit.
In a statement to CBC News, B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation said it is monitoring the area closely as are staff with the ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement branch.
It also said it has upgraded signage at the location and is reviewing other possible safety improvement and traffic-calming measures.
The ministry added it will continue to support RCMP enforcement efforts along the corridor.