Rollover crash in Vancouver sends 1 to hospital

A driver is in the hospital after a single-vehicle rollover crash in Vancouver Thursday afternoon.

The crash happened around 1:45 p.m. on West 49th Avenue near Ontario Street, across the street from Langara College.

Orion Radies, a Langara student, heard a loud noise and when he looked up, he saw the sedan was airborne.

“We saw the car rotating in the air, doing probably about three rotations,” Radies said. “It almost happened in slow motion. We couldn't believe what we were seeing and then it landed and we were in shock for a second.”

It appeared the driver collided into Radies’ parked car before jumping the curb onto the sidewalk and eventually flipping on its roof and landing on a fence.

Radies and a friend ran across the street to help the female driver.

“I could hear a voice so I knew that she was conscious and she was saying, ‘Get me out. Get me out,’” he said. “I was extremely taken aback that she was totally conscious and speaking.”

In an email, a spokesperson for BC Emergency Health Services said paramedics transported one person in serious condition.

The Vancouver Police Department posted a photo of the vehicle on social media, advising drivers to avoid the area of between Ontario and Columbia streets.

The road was reopened to traffic four hours later.

Radies believes it could’ve been catastrophic since the area is typically bustling with pedestrians.

“The lucky part was that nobody was on the walkway because it is a beautiful day. We're just outside of a college, I see people walking across there all the time, go into their houses or just walking past, trying to catch the bus. It's a super busy street,” he said.

The VPD’s collision investigators were on scene. It is unclear what led to the rollover.