An RCMP member was involved in a three-vehicle collision on Highway 19 south of Courtenay on Saturday evening.
The collision happened shortly before 6 p.m. in the southbound lanes just before the Royston Road overpass.
According to collision analyst Sgt. Brian Nightingale, the collision was caused when a BMW traveling southbound lost control as it was passing a Honda CRV.
“He sideswiped the vehicle – his loss of control was while he was overtaking the car,” Nightingale told CTV Vancouver Island. “He then rotated completely 180 degrees and went into the centre median backwards where he struck a police car sitting in the centre median.”
Ningtingale indicated that a combination of wet roads, extremely bald tires and speed caused the BMW’s loss of control. The police vehicle was unmarked and was conducting speed enforcement in the centre median.
Two people in the BMW were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Honda CRV was uninjured and the RCMP officer was taken to hospital but did not sustain any injuries.
Both southbound lanes were closed for over three hours as RCMP conducted an investigation at the scene.
