A smoky campfire under a bridge is being blamed for a massive 17-vehicle crash east of Vancouver just before Friday’s morning rush hour.
Significant injuries were reported after 16 cars and a Greyhound passenger bus collided “accordion-style” in the westbound lanes of Highway 1 in Chilliwack, B.C.
RCMP Insp. Tim Shields said 14 people were taken to three separate hospital with various injuries but no one was killed.
“It could have been much, much worse,” Shields told CTV News.
Thirty-six people on the passenger bus, en route to Vancouver from Calgary, were stuck on board for hours because of a smashed entrance door. Firefighters ended up having to cut the door off. Passenger injuries were limited to bumps and bruises.
RCMP say smoke from a bonfire started by fishermen on the Vedder River created a “visual distraction” to people driving on the highway.
“[It] created a distraction for drivers resulting in a rapid slowdown of traffic and an accordion affect as vehicles slammed into one another,” Insp. Shields said.
The highway was initially closed in both directions, but traffic was reopened eastbound shortly after. Westbound traffic reopened shortly after 11 a.m.
Police say this is a reminder for drivers to leave more room between themselves and the vehicle ahead of them.
