Fireworks erupted into the night sky after a truck crashed on Highway 1 in Hope Thursday night.
Just before 10 p.m., a pickup truck carrying a trailer full of fireworks was involved in a collision near Hunter Creek and the Laidlaw scale station.
Kendra Bergen and her son were driving home to Chilliwack after a hockey game in Hope when they witnessed the surprise fireworks show.
“The sky just lit up with colour and fireworks,” she tells Glacier Media. “It was totally unexpected.”
As they were driving she told her son in the backseat to start filming the show with his phone.
“The fireworks were unreal,” she says. “They were coming so high, but also through the trees.”
At one point, they fell into the lane they were driving in, nearly hitting their vehicle.
“There was a point where I thought, ‘Is this safe?’” she says. “I didn’t want to stay put in that spot.”
Bergen says her son was able to tell it was a truck involved in the crash.
“There were a bunch of emergency vehicles that we could see in the other lane, but they couldn’t do much because what are they going to do in that situation?” she says.
BC Emergency Health Services confirms they were notified of the incident at 9:51 p.m. and responded with one ambulance.
"Paramedics cared for and transported one patient to hospital in stable condition," says a spokesperson.
Sgt. Mike Sargent with the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment tells Glacier Media the pickup truck with the trailer of fireworks was pulled off on the side of Highway 1 when it was hit from the rear by a semi truck and trailer.
"The trailer towed by the pickup truck contained a large quantity of fireworks which were ignited as a result of the collision," he said. "The pickup truck subsequently caught fire and was completely burnt. Both drivers were able to exit their vehicles safely."
Police had to close down the eastbound lane on Highway 1 for about two hours.
Cpl. Carmen Kiener says police had to wait for the fireworks to stop exploding before they could approach the scene.
"They definitely had to wait and keep a distance until they could actually go in there and ensure the fire was completely extinguished,” she says. “It was quite the display, but it was also a danger to passing motorists.”
Only the two vehicles and a highway sign were damaged in the fireworks crash.
An investigation is underway. Police have determined that alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the collision.
Bergen, meanwhile, calls the experience once in a lifetime.
“It was a pretty amazing way to celebrate my son’s win at the hockey game,” she says.
