A crash that saw an over-height semi-trailer truck fail to clear the railway bridge just east of the new Clover Road overpass set a new all-time record, according to an online tally of overpass collisions in Metro Vancouver.
Video taken by another truck's dashcam, posted online, showed the semi appeared to suffer extensive damage to its trailer in the crash at 1:24 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6.
"There was debris on the ground," said the Skilled Truckers on Facebook post.
"He [the driver] initially stopped, then fled the scene. The police are looking for the transporter."
Black Press has reached out to the B.C. Highway Patrol for more information.
Metro Vancouver Overpass Impact Counter reported the Langley crash brings the total number of overpass collisions in Metro Vancouver to 17 so far this year, a new all-time record.
In 2023 and 2022, there were 12 such incidents in each year, reported the online tally.
Here's the full video and description by the person that submitted it to Skilled Truckers on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/i8wbFQq9Sm
— Metro Vancouver Overpass Impact Counter (@MVOverpassDWI) September 7, 2024
The railway overpass has a 4.4-metre clearance, far less than the minimum 5.2 metres modern standards require.
It is slated for replacement, like the neighbouring Glover Road overpass, which, built in the 1960s, stood 4.3 metres.
Truck drivers who failed to check their clearances in advance repeatedly smashed into the Glover structure, usually heading east, causing partial closures
Glover crossing was demolished and replaced with a new overpass that opened in May with better height clearance, and multi-use pathways on either side for cyclists and pedestrians.
The rising number of overpass collisions in Metro Vancouver comes despite a provincial move to increase penalties for such crashes after an Aldergrove-based trucking company, Chohan Freight Forwarders, had its licence to operate in B.C. cancelled, following six overpass collisions in the last two years.
Chohan's safety certificate was suspended on Dec. 29, 2023, when overheight ironwork being transported by a Chohan contractor crashed into the Highway 99 overpass at 112th Street in Delta.
Chohan filed a court challenge of the suspension.
READ ALSO: B.C.’s overpass strike fines now up to $100K, could include jail time
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Quiet opening of new Glover Road overpass grabs attention online
