Police, province seek driver in Massey Tunnel collision

The George Massey Tunnel in Richmond, B.C., is pictured in 2019. Police are looking for the driver of a truck that hit the roof of the tunnel on Wednesday evening. (Ben Nelms/CBC - image credit)

Police and provincial officials are working to identify a driver whose truck hit the roof of the Massey Tunnel Wednesday evening. Richmond RCMP said in a statement they believe they have identified the truck that struck the tunnel roof, but they are working to identify the driver. The statement said officers reviewed dashcam footage from a witness who was driving directly behind the truck when the incident happened around 8:10 p.m.

The truck initially stopped inside the tunnel but then continued driving through before pulling over, the statement said. RCMP say the driver possibly spoke with an employee from a road maintenance contractor, but this person has yet to be identified. Police are asking anyone with information or dashcam footage to contact Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212 and quote file number 2024-1070.

'There is no excuse for this' The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said it is also investigating to determine the company and driver of the vehicle, noting it is "frustrating" to see another incident like this. "There is no excuse for this.

It has never been easier to follow a route to guide the load to travel safely through our highway system and avoid the potential for impact with infrastructure," said the statement. The province said no significant damage occurred. The province has brought in new enforcement measures[1] for collisions of these kinds, including raising fines and suspending entire fleets.

As of the end of 2023, there had been 17 overpass strikes in the past year[2] and 31 since December 2021.

"The vast majority of truckers operate safe and responsibly, but clearly the message is not yet getting through to a select few drivers and companies," said the statement from the province.

References

1. ^ new enforcement measures (www.cbc.ca)
2. ^ overpass strikes in the past year (www.cbc.ca)