One person has died following a single-vehicle incident that closed Highway 4 in northeast Port Alberni overnight June 24, 2021.
Emergency services were called just after 1:00 a.m. to a scene west of the Alberni Chamber of Commerce, where a van heading east had left the roadway to the right and collided with a fence. Port Alberni Fire Department and Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department both attended as well as RCMP and BC Ambulance.
The occupants of a vehicle behind the van stopped to assist and called 911.
“An occupant of the van was in medical distress and was treated on site, however did not survive,” RCMP Sgt. Peter Dionne said.
The area of Highway 4 next to the scene of the incident was closed for several hours overnight but reopened early Thursday morning.
The B.C. Coroner’s Service, specialized traffic services and Port Alberni RCMP are still investigating. The name of the deceased individual has not been released.
The incident was one of three that crews had to deal with in a short period of time. A call came in just before 1 a.m. about an incident on Beaver Creek Road but emergency services couldn’t find anything, Port Alberni Fire Chief Mike Owens said.
Shortly after crews arrived on scene at the fatality another call came in about a vehicle hitting a pole on Moore Road at Cherryvale Road in Cherry Creek. No extrication was required.
Port Alberni Fire Department handles road rescue in Cherry Creek’s jurisdiction, which is why both departments answered multiple calls together, Owens added.