Surrey Police Service (SPS) says Highway 99 remains closed southbound from the Highway 91 interchange and northbound from King George Boulevard due to a multi-vehicle collision earlier this evening.
In an update provided to media around 9:30 p.m., senior media relations officer S/Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said Highway 99 southbound will remain closed for several more hours into the night as police investigate this multi-vehicle collision that spans a significant stretch of the highway.
“Five individuals were taken to hospital for various injuries, including at least one with potentially critical injuries who was taken by air ambulance,” said Houghton.
Anyone with information, including dash cam footage if you were travelling on Highway 99 near the Highway 91 interchange at approximately 5:30 p.m., is asked to contact SPS at 604-599-0502 and quote file number SP24-4128.
If you wish to make an anonymous report please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.
Houghton said SPS would like to thank RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit officers, paramedics, Surrey Fire Department, Delta Police Department and Mainroad for their significant response and assistance.
Curtis Kreklau from South Fraser News Services told the Optimist it looked like the collision involved at least eight cars with substantial damage and possibly more with minor damage as well as two semi-trucks blocking all lanes in both directions
“The layout of the scene seems to indicate that a northbound semi hauling a flatbed trailer crossed the centre median and collided with multiple vehicles and another semi,” he said. “As the semi crossed the centre median it pulled the cable barrier (in place to prevent such cross-over head-on collisions) into the southbound lanes, tangling it with multiple vehicles and putting it under extreme tension.”
He said emergency responders had to be very careful working around this hazard.
“I observed at least three vehicles that had rolled over and at least two where firefighters had to use the jaws of life to cut apart the vehicle and free the occupants,” he said.
