Car crashes through UBC parkade
Posted January 17, 2024 11:18 am.
Last Updated January 17, 2024 6:55 pm.
One person was extracted from a vehicle after it crashed through a parkade and fell to the ground below at UBC Wednesday, though the condition of that individual is not clear at this time.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services public information officer Matthew Trudeau says crews received calls about the incident just after 9:30 a.m.
“The vehicle went through a concrete barrier onto the ground level, ending up on the nose of the vehicle,” he told CityNews.
Trudeau says there were “a significant amount of challenges and hazards to overcome” — including a structural component, as well as a “battery charging container that basically fed vehicle charges throughout the building.
“Our technical rescue and a couple of additional squads (were called in) for the hazards that were in place there from a significant concrete piece of the building came over the scene, which partially landed on a battery storage system, which was energized. The vehicle was still precariously placed on the nose, with the person inside of it still,” he explained.
Trudeau says once they got them out, the person was transferred to the care of BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), with the RCMP now investigating what happened.
Meanwhile, BCEHS confirms it responded to the Thunderbird Arena parkade along Thunderbird Boulevard just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“Two ambulances, an Advanced Care Paramedic responder unit and a supervisor responded. Paramedics did not transport any patients to hospital,” said Paramedic Public Information Officer Jasprit Khandal.
While the Lower Mainland has been dealing with a major snowstorm Wednesday, Trudeau says rescue crews don’t believe weather was a factor in the incident.
“I do know that the second storey is covered, so there shouldn’t have been any snow accumulation. … There could have been water or ice because of freezing temperatures from a leaking pipe, [but] we’re still working on that part of it,” he said.
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-With files from Srushti Gangdev
