Border-bound site visitors blocked on Freeway 99 after truck hits overpass

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A B.C. trucking firm has had its licence suspended by the province after one in every of its semi-trailer vehicles slammed right into a Freeway 99 overpass in Delta.

Transport Minister Rob Fleming says it’s the sixth such crash involving Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd. prior to now two years.

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Fleming says the Industrial Automobile Security and Enforcement department has suspended the agency’s security certificates, placing its complete fleet of 65 vehicles off the highway as of 4:30 p.m. Friday.

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Transport Ministry communications supervisor Rob Duffus says an preliminary evaluation seems to point out “important injury” to the 112 Avenue overpass.

The crash simply after midday on Thursday shut down each lanes of Freeway 99 in addition to the overpass.

B.C. Emergency Well being Providers says one individual was taken to hospital by ambulance in steady situation.

It’s the newest in a rash of overpass collisions that prompted the province to unveil harsher penalties for firms and drivers with repeat offences earlier this month.

“This suspension is a results of the corporate’s unwillingness or incapability to function safely inside the province, following its sixth infrastructure crash in two years,” stated Fleming in a press release.

He added that each the driving force and the service would face “the hardest fines within the nation” and the end result of the investigation might result in extra motion.

“This must cease. We all know that the overwhelming majority of business drivers in B.C. function safely and responsibly. Nevertheless, some operators aren’t getting the message,“ stated Fleming.

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Chohan Freight Forwarders didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail and couldn’t be reached by telephone.

Duffus stated the suspension of the agency’s licence to function in B.C., pending the end result of the investigation, “will probably price the corporate tens of hundreds of {dollars}.”

World Information video footage of the scene confirmed what seemed like a development girder embedded within the overpass, whereas pictures shared on social media confirmed others on the mattress of a truck and laying throughout the freeway.

Delta Fireplace and Rescue Deputy Chief Dave Wooden stated the crash additionally prompted a “secondary accident” involving one other car, and crews had been known as to the scene at 12:14 p.m.

Duffus stated overpass crashes had a “enormous influence: they delay commuters, have an effect on the motion of products and may impede first responders.

“This implies households, companies and the financial system all endure.”

On Dec. 14, fines for over-height autos had been elevated to $575, up from $115.

The brand new guidelines additionally embody the requirement for dump-style autos to have in-cab warning gadgets by subsequent June, telling drivers if their trailer hasn’t been lowered.

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However Duffus stated with CVSE’s new enforcement framework, suspensions might price the service way more in enterprise than the quantity of the ticket, pending the outcomes of the investigation.

Provincial statistics say as many as 30 bridge strikes have occurred on B.C.’s highways since 2021, with 16 of them reported final yr alone.

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