A multi-vehicle crash that left one person with serious injuries was captured on video surveillance camera.
The footage from Budget Brake & Muffler shows a speeding car running a red light at Bay and Douglas streets and smashing into a pickup truck, which then collided with a BC Transit bus, at around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20th.
A VicPD officer can be seen turning right onto Douglas seconds before the crash, with the speeding car blasting past the officer in the opposite direction.
Police say that when they arrived at the crash scene, the front end of the car was engulfed in flames and bystanders were aiding in removing the driver and passenger from the vehicle.
One witness told Victoria Buzz that one of the assisting bystanders was an unhoused Victorian who has aided in situations like this before.
Two people could be seen waiting at the crosswalk just feet from the bus narrowly escaped the flying debris. After running quickly from the crash, they can be seen going back to check on the burning car.
Due to the force of the impact, the truck was pushed into the front end of the BC Transit bus involved, which was headed northbound on Douglas Street.
“There were passengers on board the bus at the time of the collision, but no significant injuries were reported from the bus,” BC Transit confirmed.
The footage below shows multiple people exiting the bus.
“The bus suffered significant damage to the front end during the incident, and there was lost service as a result. BC Transit thanks emergency services and their Transit Supervisor for their fast response.”
Police say the truck driver received serious and possibly life-altering injuries, while the driver and passenger of the car only sustained minor injuries.
All three were transported to hospital.
The crash is eerily similar to an incident that occurred back in August 2019.
In that case, police were attempting to stop a pickup truck minutes before causing a high-speed crash involving three other vehicles and a cyclist.
The driver failed to stop for officers and fled at high-speed colliding with three other vehicles at Douglas and Bay Streets causing significant damage to all the vehicles involved.
That crash was also caught on a video by surveillance camera at Budget Brake and Muffler.
The footage shows the white truck entering the intersection from Bay Street at high-speed colliding with three vehicles in the intersection. The first vehicle hit can be seen flipping and landing upside down a distance away – the cyclist managed to stop amidst the chaos and is seen falling backwards before he gets up and runs from the debris.
Another cyclist can also be seen crossing the intersection just before the collision.
The suspect driver managed to exit the truck and can be see fleeing on foot. Officers were able to arrest him nearby.
The three other drivers were all transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
