A former Port Alberni resident is dead after a motor vehicle accident in Victoria.
Saanich Police Department Sgt. Dean Jantzen wouldn’t confirm the man’s name but did confirm that the 21-year-old is a former Port Alberni resident.
Police responded to multiple calls of an accident at the intersection of Gorge Road and Harriet Road at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Jantzen said.
The driver lost control of his Chevy pickup truck as it headed westbound on Gorge Rd., crossed the oncoming traffic lanes and struck a hydro pole on the sidewalk.
The truck was engulfed in flames when police arrived, Jantzen said.
Officers fought the fire with extinguishers, but fire personnel was needed to put out the flames.
Fire crews extricated the man from his truck but he died enroute to hospital.
“Some of our guys were quite traumatized by this,” Jantzen said.
The cause of the accident isn’t yet determined, but speed and driver error are being examined.
Vehicle accidents in the area are common.
“It descends on the right hand side and there is a hard curve that can be tricky,” Jantzen said.
“There has been a number of accidents there in the 15 years I’ve been here.”
reporter@albernivalleynews.com