A driver who flipped her car in heavy rain on a notoriously difficult stretch of Hwy. 1 in West Vancouver walked away from the crash with only minor injuries Sunday.
The 34-year old Squamish resident lost control while heading east near the Capilano River Bridge, hitting a PT Cruiser before flipping her Hyundai upside down. She was taken to Lions Gate Hospital for observation and released. The driver of the Cruiser suffered only minor abrasions.
Corp. Jag Johal of the West Vancouver Police Department said the driver of the Hyundai was handed a ticket for driving too fast for the road conditions.
Sunday's accident happened in a stretch of road long recognized as a dangerous one on the North Shore highway.
It's close to the spot where two West Vancouver women were killed in November 2004 when their car was hit by a log flying off a logging truck's trailer.
In 2010 alone, there were 167 accidents near that curve, according to ICBC.
That stretch of highway has long been on the radar of West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Ralph Sultan, who has met with Ministry of Transportation officials to voice concerns. Sultan said engineers have told him the slope of the road is not ideal, but isn't considered a major hazard. So far, the ministry's response has been to reduce the speed limit nearby and post new warning signs. It may be some time before it sees further improvement, said Sultan, as a rebuild of that portion of the highway would probably require replacing the bridge over Capilano River. "It would be a major project," he said. "We are reasonably high on the list but we are certainly not at the top."
Johal said that stretch of road "is one of our hotspots" for crashes. But he added that doesn't stop people from speeding. "There's only so much you can do."
