Errant dump truck tire flying across highway results in minor injuries, major fines
'B.C. Highway Patrol has a low tolerance for commercial vehicles that are not properly maintained,' RCMP say
A dump truck company in Delta, B.C., has been fined nearly $700 after the wheels of one of its vehicles came loose and went careening across a highway, crashing into oncoming traffic.
According to the RCMP's B.C. Highway Patrol, it happened Nov. 28 just before 11:00 a.m. PT on Highway 1, near the No. 3 Road offramp.
Police say two of the wheels came off of the truck while it was travelling eastbound, and one of them crossed the highway, hitting a westbound SUV head-on.
The driver of the SUV "did not appear to have serious injuries," Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in a police statement, but "she was taken to the hospital as a precaution."
The driver of the dump truck was uninjured, but he and the company that owns his truck are facing fines, which include a $598 charge for "making a false or deceptive pre-trip statement" and $109 for "driving a motor vehicle that is not in compliance with the Motor Vehicle Act."
The truck has been seized and ordered to be fully inspected at the company's expense.
"This was completely preventable with a proper pre-trip inspection," McLaughlin wrote in the statement. "B.C. Highway Patrol has a low tolerance for commercial vehicles that are not properly maintained."