Police say a motorcyclist killed after colliding with a recreational vehicle on the Sea to Sky Highway (Hwy 99) on Sunday was “speeding and driving erratically” before the fatal crash.
The incident happened around 5:30 pm and resulted in Hwy 99 being shut down for over eight hours, stranding thousands of motorists before the major route reopened at 2 am.
According to an RCMP statement, a BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) officer was conducting speed enforcement on Hwy 99 near Squamish when they spotted two motorcyclists.
They were driving erratically at high speeds, the statement noted, so the officer left their position along the highway to pursue them.
Moments later, they arrived upon an accident scene involving one of the bikers and a recreational vehicle. Police say the female motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Independent Investigations Officer of BC was notified and will conduct an investigation into whether the BCHP officer’s actions contributed to the fatal crash.
The BCHP, meanwhile, is investigating the incident as a whole, and are appealing to the public for additional witness accounts and dash cam footage.
Anyone who may have seen the motorcycles on Hwy 99, or has dash cam footage of their driving leading up to the crash, is asked to contact the BCHP at 604-526-9744.
The investigation into the incident resulted in Hwy 99 being shut down for the rest of Sunday evening before it finally reopened at 2 am Monday.
The closure left thousands of weekend travellers stranded on the highway and some even resorted to sleeping on the road or setting up tents with their vehicles immobile.
Even once the highway reopened, traffic was said to have been backed up for several kilometres for hours because some had abandoned their vehicles to camp for the night at nearby sites.
Many members of the Squamish community reportedly stepped up to offer temporary accommodation to stranded travellers as well.
