A vehicle travelling along Lost Lake Rd. rolled early Wednesday morning after clipping traffic barriers. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

rollover

Man removed from SUV after colliding with traffic barrier along Lost Lake Rd.

Jan 4, 2023 | 10:38 AM

NANAIMO — A vehicle rolled onto its side after clipping a set of concrete traffic dividers.

Emergency crews responded to the 5500 block of Lost Lake Rd., just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, after an SUV clipped the barriers near the Smokey Cres. intersection.

Dale Narum witnessed the crash on his way home. He told NanaimoNewsNOW the car was travelling westbound towards Rutherford Rd. at the time of the incident.

“All I saw was just a vehicle hit the oncoming median and flipped on its side. No idea what led up to it or anything like that. Me and a few other witnesses stopped and went to check on the man, he seemed to be fine.”

Narum added the vehicle appeared to veer left just before, leading to the collision with the traffic barrier.

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The driver and lone occupant, an adult male in his late 60’s or early 70’s, was freed from his seatbelt and safely removed from the vehicle by Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews before being treated on scene by paramedics.

He was later taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for observation but got into the ambulance largely under his own power according to crews on scene.

Narum, a former firefighter said he was caught off guard by the sudden crash but it wasn’t foreign to him.

“I’m not new to stuff like this, I’ve seen it before. It was good to get him the help that he needed and he seemed to be fine, talking and speaking.”

He noted it took a while to get emergency crews to the scene.

“We actually did get put on hold [with 911 dispatch], which I guess is how it is,” Narum said. “We knew it wasn’t too serious but a rollover, entrapment, even if there was fuel leaking or a fire and we had to extricate him before the fire department got here, it took a while to get on the phone with 911.”

Traffic was briefly closed on Lost Lake Rd., however quickly re-opened to single-lane alternating while clean-up continued.

City of Nanaimo Public Works were notified of the incident and will be tasked with repairing damage to the barrier and an attached sign.

Multiple firefighters were used in the extrication of the vehicle’s driver, an adult male. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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