A head-on collision on the Malahat highway that sent a female driver and two children passengers to hospital began when a SUV travelling south towards Victoria crossed the centre line of the highway, police say.
Shawnigan Lake RCMP said a preliminary investigation found that a southbound grey Acura MDX SUV crossed the centre line into oncoming traffic and hit a grey Honda Civic that was heading north near the Malahat Summit around 5:40 p.m. on Saturday
B.C. Highway Patrol units that arrived on scene found witnesses rendering first aid to a female driver who was drifting in and out of consciousness, police said in a statement on Sunday.
Two young children who were sitting in the back of the Honda Civic were transported to hospital.
The severity of their injuries was not made public.
The male driver and a female passenger in the Acura received minor injuries, police said.
Police did not say whether the people in the Acura were transported to hospital.
A B.C. Emergency Health Services spokesperson initially told the Times Colonist on Saturday evening that seven people were transported to hospital following a three-vehicle crash on the Malahat highway near the Split Rock lookout, a few kilometres south of Mill Bay Road.
B.C. Emergency Health Services spokesperson Kris Olsen said that five ambulances were dispatched for the injured and arrived on scene at 5:54 p.m.
The Times Colonist has reached out to RCMP about the discrepancy.
Following the crash, a 13.4-kilometre section of the Malahat Highway both north and south of the Malahat Summit was closed until after 9 p.m.
Motorists were asked to detour at Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road and at Shawnigan Lake Road on Saturday evening.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
Police believe neither alcohol nor drug use appear to be factors in the crash.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or the events leading up to it is asked to contact Shawnigan Lake RCMP at 250-743-5513.
According to data collected by ICBC between 2018 and 2022, on average, 67 people are injured in 306 crashes on Vancouver Island every year over the B.C. Day long weekend, from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Monday.
