Woman seriously injured in head-on collision on Malahat highway

The Malahat highway is pictured: Dec. 3, 2021 (BC Transportation / Twitter)

A woman was taken to hospital in serious condition after a head-on collision on the Malahat Saturday evening, according to local RCMP.

The Shawnigan Lake RCMP said it responded to the crash around 5:40 p.m. near the Malahat Summit.

According to police, a grey Acura MDX travelling south on the highway crossed the centre line into oncoming traffic, where it collided with a grey Honda Civic going north.

Neither alcohol nor drugs appear to be factors in the crash, Mounties said.

Bystanders at the scene jumped in to provide first aid to the driver in the Honda, who police say was going in and out of consciousness. She was transported to hospital in what Mounties describe as serious condition.

Two young children who were also in the Honda were taken to hospital with unspecified injuries. The occupants of the Acura, a male driver and female passenger, sustained minor injuries, police said.

The northbound lanes of the highway were shut down until about 9:15 p.m. while collision analysts investigated.

Over the B.C. Day long weekend, an average of two people are killed and 562 people injured in 2,064 crashes across the province, according to ICBC data from 2018-2022. On Vancouver Island, 67 people are injured in 306 crashes during the long weekend, on average.

To assist in the ongoing investigation, the Shawnigan Lake RCMP asks anyone who witnessed the crash or has dash cam video to call the detachment at 250-743-5514.