VANCOUVER -- A man is in hospital in critical condition after being pulled from a vehicle that was submerged in a water-filled ditch in Surrey Tuesday night.
According to Surrey RCMP, the two-car accident happened at 168th Street and Highway 10 shortly before 9:30 p.m.
The collision sent a white sedan into a water-filled ditch.
"(One) person was extricated from the vehicle, in approximately six feet of water," said Brian Carmichael, battalion chief with Surrey Fire Service. "That person received CPR and has been transported to Royal Columbian Hospital by BC Ambulance."
Carmichael said that two members from the water rescue team went into the ditch, hooked up the vehicle and tow trucks pulled the car out. They were also looking for any other people who may have ended up in the water.
"There were no other patients found in the ditch," Carmichael said. "At the moment, one person has been taken to hospital, and the other person is in the ambulance right now, and I’m not sure with that persons' condition."
According to Carmichael, the ditch may be filled up to six feet of water, and some areas may be deeper.
"It's always tricky when a vehicle is submerged, and accessing the vehicle but the extrication happened and the patient is being cared for in hospital at this time," Carmichael said.
A man was seen being placed in handcuffs at the scene of the accident, but was eventually released by police. In a release Wednesday, Surrey RCMP said the driver of the second vehicle was arrested, but had been released pending further investigation.
Both drivers were taken to hospital, according to police. The driver of the submerged vehicle, a 27-year-old man, remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the second vehicle, a 21-year-old man, has been released from hospital, police said.
All westbound traffic was closed overnight at 168th Street and Highway 10 as members from the Surrey RCMP Criminal Collision Investigative Team worked to determine the cause of the collision.
