BԪַ

Skip to content

VIDEO: Car ripped in half in Alberni Hwy crash BԪַunheard-ofBԪַ

Towing operators shocked by damage to vehicle as driver walks away
8124876_web1_170815-PQN-M-bmw-door-jr-aug15
The driverBԪַs compartment and door of a 1991 BWM sedan remains undamaged after the car was split in half in a collision on the Alberni Highway Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. BԪַ J.R. Rardon photo

When Arrowsmith Towing employee Garrett Knocke arrived at the scene of a two-car collision on the Alberni Highway last Saturday night, he wasnBԪַt quite sure what he was seeing.

BԪַI didnBԪַt think it was going to be like this,BԪַ Knocke said of the 1991 BMW sedan, which crossed the path of a Dodge Dakota pickup on rain-slicked Highway 4 near Little Qualicum River Falls Provincial Park shortly before 8 p.m. BԪַTrent (the dispatcher) told me it was ripped in half, but I didnBԪַt think literally ripped in half. WeBԪַve had some where theyBԪַve been bent, almost in half. But nothing like this.BԪַ

The most surprising thing of all, to both Knocke and the RCMP officers who responded to the scene, was the the driver, who was from Nanaimo, got out of the remaining front half of the car and walked away without serious injury.

The two pieces of the vehicle rested this week in Arrowsmith TowingBԪַs wrecking yard, just metres from the crumpled remains of a Chevrolet Citation that had been rear-ended by a semi-truck on Highway 19 three days earlier.

RELATED:

BԪַIBԪַve been doing this for 25 years and IBԪַve never seen a car sheared in half from a collision,BԪַ said Bert Girard, owner of Arrowsmith Towing.

Knocke said Arrowsmith Towing returned to the scene the following morning to collect the rear passenger door and other parts flung off the road by the force of the impact.

The BMW was traveling westbound, police said. A witness told Knocke the driver moved into a passing lane to go around another vehicle when it BԪַstarted fishtailingBԪַ and crossed in front of the pickup, travelling easbound with two people from the Qualicum Beach area.

The pickup struck the dark-blue BMW just behind the front passenger door and took the back end off as it continued down the roadway. The BMWBԪַs driveshaft separated from the transmission and the rear axle, gas tank and frame were a crumpled mass that Knocke said, BԪַdoesnBԪַt look like a car anymore.BԪַ

RELATED:

The front of the vehicle, however, particularly the driverBԪַs side to the rear wheel well, was left in almost perfect condition.

BԪַYou could still get parts from this,BԪַ Knocke said, indicating the open hood.

The passenger in the pickup truck was hospitalized overnight with what was reported to be a broken ankle. Otherwise, there were no major injuries in the incident.

Days later, Girard was still mystified at the way the BWM separated on impact. He contrast the damage with the Highway 19 collision earlier in the week, when the semi barreled into both the aforementioned Citation and a Chevy pickup truck.

BԪַIBԪַve seen a lot of things here,BԪַ said Girard. BԪַYou look at that pickup, and the bed was ripped off the back because of the weight and speed of the impact by the semi.

BԪַBut ripping a car in half like that, that is definitley unheard-of, no question.BԪַ

jr.rardon@pqbnews.com





(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }