Truck flips on 200 Street
Ryan Bruneau’s long road trip to Edmonton started in Pitt Meadows on Thursday morning, and ended abruptly a few minutes later when his rig toppled at the entry to the eastbound on-ramp of Highway 1 at 200 Street in Langley.
Witnesses say the truck was going slowly when it made the left turn from 200 Street. Then something happened and Bruneau’s truck, loaded with 30” oil pipes and a stack of plywood, toppled onto its side where it landed partially on a crosswalk, demolishing an overhead sign.
A Transit police officer, who confirmed to Bruneau that he took the corner slowly, rushed to the trucker’s aid, climbing onto the cab. He opened the door and instructed Bruneau to turn off the engine. But in the collision, Bruneau was jolted around his cab and couldn’t reach the ignition with his hands, so he used his boot.
He was then helped out by the officer.
“It all happened in slow motion,” Bruneau said. “It seems like I lost traction.”
“In 25 years, I’ve never had that experience,” he said.
Bruneau, suffering a sore chest and back, said that his seat belt prevented more serious injuries.
“I’m a firm believer in seat belts, and I always wear mine. It kept me in my seat,” he said.
About 90 minutes after the crash, which occurred at around 10 a.m., Bruneau watched as a crane attached to another truck transferred the pipes and lumber from the disabled rig. The truck, belonging to Bruneau’s employer, Bill’s Trucking of Abbotsford, was then set back on its wheels.
Northbound traffic on 200 Street was prevented from turning east onto Highway 1 for several hours, but vehicles coming from the north were given a narrow access to the on-ramp.
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