A pickup truck flipped and landed on its roof in the courtyard of a Saanich seniors residence on Tuesday afternoon, sending the driver to hospital.
It began with a two-vehicle crash shortly before 1:30 p.m. at Trillium Highgate Lodge at 1538 Cedar Hill Cross Rd.
Witness C. Burnam said she was on the lodge’s fourth floor visiting her stepfather when she heard a “big noise.”
“I looked out the window and the car was going into the courtyard,” she said. “Often there are people sitting in the courtyard because this is a seniors’ place … Fortunately no residents were down there.”
The driver appeared to have hit a utility pole as well as a transformer on the ground before smashing through an iron fence and colliding with a brick wall, Burman said.
People rushed to the vehicle to help immediately following the accident, said Burnam, who called 911 to report the crash.
The truck’s driver, who appeared to have a head injury, was able to walk to a waiting stretcher, she said.
He was taken to hospital with minor injuries, said Saanich police, who said the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash — a smaller car — was not injured.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, police said.
In the wake of the crash, police shut down the 1500-block of Cedar Hill Cross Road, between Cedar Hill Road and Ophir Street, while crews removed the truck.
Staff visited each resident to check on them, Burman said.
B.C. Hydro and Fortis B.C. were on the scene late Tuesday afternoon. Fortis said no gas infrastructure was damaged.
A team from B.C. Hydro was at the site for most of the afternoon. A handful of customers were affected by a power outage and full service was expected to be restored by 9 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesperson said.
