Drivers hit poles on the side of the road in separate crashes in Victoria and Nanaimo on Sunday.
Victoria police said they witnessed a vehicle travelling on the wrong side of the road in Vic West in the area of Tyee and Esquimalt roads about 3 a.m. Sunday.
An officer activated the police car’s overhead emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle and was in the process of turning it off when the driver — who did not stop for police — crashed around the corner, police said in a statement.
After hitting a streetlamp, the car continued for several metres, shearing off branches from nearby trees before coming to a stop outside the Vic West skatepark.
A driver and a passenger sustained minor injuries in the crash, police said.
On Monday, a city lamp post was conspicuously missing on the north side of Esquimalt Road, and tire tracks from the crash were still visible on the grassy boulevard.
Photos taken following the crash show the black sedan had its airbags deployed and major damage to the front, with a missing right front tire, as it was being towed away by police on Sunday morning.
Because the incident involved a police officer, the Independent Investigation Office of sa国际传媒, a police watchdog agency, is investigating. In a statement, the IIO said it’s still confirming the extent of the two individuals’ injuries in the collision to determine whether it will conduct a full investigation. It typically only investigates incidents that involve death or serous injury.
IIO is asking witnesses to the crash to provide statements and other evidence at 1-855-446-8477 or online at .
In Nanaimo, firefighters responded to a single-vehicle crash off the intersection of Princess Royal Avenue and Estevan Road on Sunday afternoon around 2:15 p.m.
They arrived to find a SUV flipped on its roof in the parking lot of Generations Church and a female driver being tended to by bystanders.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief Troy Libbus said the car had hit a joint sa国际传媒 Hydro and telecommunications pole before ending up in the parking lot. “The whole pole was sheared off,” he said.
As the utility pole had fallen onto the road, firefighters kept the intersection clear of vehicles until sa国际传媒 Hydro and Telus crews arrived to fix the damage later that afternoon, Libbus said.
Nanaimo RCMP reserve Const. Gary O’Brien said it appeared the crash was caused by driver error. Paramedics treated the driver at the scene, he said.
Libbus said the best approach to downed utility lanes is to stay away and call 911.
