VANCOUVER -- A major car crash involving multiple vehicles closed the Sea to Sky Highway on Saturday, and one of the vehicles involved is connected to a luxury car rally.
According to the RCMP’s initial assessment, the crash included a Range Rover, a Toyota and a silver Lamborghini.
“Two vehicles, a black Range Rover and a silver Lamborghini, were travelling northbound where they were involved in an incident which caused the silver Lamborghini to lose control and hit the median, cross over in oncoming traffic, and hit a Toyota crossover coming southbound,” reads an RCMP statement.
Six ambulances and two helicopter ambulances responded to the call, and transported six patients to hospital. Two of the people were in serious condition, while the other four had “non life-threatening injuries,” according to a statement from B.C. Emergency Health Services.
Two children are among the injured, but as of noon on Sunday, RCMP said they are in stable condition.
Those who witnessed the aftermath of Saturday’s crash took to social media and posted photos of the wreckage along with descriptions of what they saw – several said there were luxury vehicles involved, which were part of the Diamond Hublot fundraising rally.
RCMP confirmed the observations on Sunday.
"I can confirm the silver Lamborghini travelling north was part of the Diamond Hublot Rally, but at this stage were are determining the exact cause of what made it cross into oncoming traffic" said Sgt. Sascha Banks in the RCMP statement.
The Diamond Hublot Rally is a yearly event that, according to its website, is a “platform to raise funds and awareness" for charities. Some of the “driver-selected” charities for the 2020 rally include the Vancouver Food Bank, Make-A-Wish Canada, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, Vancouver Police Foundation, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, and the St. Paul’s Foundation, among others.
The rally’s posted schedule says the first group of cars were scheduled to leave Vancouver for the Pemberton airport at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and that others were to leave later in the morning.
The Diamond Hublot website states that drivers should obey speed limits on the highway, and also urges “drivers and navigators” to use “your time wisely” on the airport’s closed track.
“For 2020, it’s all about staying in your car while driving the airport runway as many times as you can in your 90 minute reservation time slot and then heading back to Whistler to enjoy the long weekend,” it reads.
B.C. Emergency Health Services says it received a call just after noon about a multiple vehicle collision on Highway 99 near Daisy Lake, about seven kilometres south of Whistler.
Officers from Squamish and Whistler RCMP attended the scene, along with firefighters.
RCMP said in their statement that they “are investigating both the drivers of the Range Rover and the Lamborghini for Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle.”
A detailed analysis to understand the cause of the crash is underway.
“Due to the severity of the collision and the injuries, the Whistler RCMP requested the Integrated Collision Analysis Reconstructionist Service to attend … to determine the cause of the crash,” reads the RCMP statement.
In their statement on Sunday – a day after the crash – the RCMP pled with drivers to be careful along Highway 99.
“We have seen far too much tragedy on the Sea to Sky Highway to last us all a lifetime, we can only implore those in our area to slow down ... Everyone who visits us wants to get to their destination safe and sound."
CTV News Vancouver has reached out to the rally organizers for comment.
Fundraiser started
The crash struck a chord with a 10-year-old boy from West Vancouver. He doesn’t know the children who were hurt, but wants to help.
Bear Yeung has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the family affected, his goal is to raise $20,000 to buy a new car to replace the damaged Toyota.
“I felt very upset (about the crash), I felt very sorry for the family and I also felt very, very, very angry at people who drive dangerously (because) it really affected them,” Yeung said. “Us kids are going back to school this week and now they can’t go to school, they’re in a hospital bed.”