Two cars collided just north of the Chef Creek bridge on Hwy. 19 Wednesday night, after one had been travelling in the wrong direction of the highway. (Google Maps)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

wrong way driver

Allegedly impaired driver, travelling south in northbound lanes, involved in late-night Hwy. 19 crash

Sep 25, 2025 | 1:43 PM

QUALICUM BEACH — Investigators in Oceanside are looking into the circumstances which led to a significant crash along Hwy. 19 Wednesday night.

RCMP Sgt. Shane Worth told NanaimoNewsNOW emergency crews responded to the highway near the Chef Creek bridge at around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

“The crash occurred when a white SUV travelling southbound in the northbound lanes of the highway collided with a red sedan, which was in the northbound lanes. Investigators do believe the driver of the white SUV…was impaired by alcohol.”

The driver of the SUV, a 46-year-old man, and the driver and passenger in the red sedan, both women in their 20s, were taken to hospital with various injuries.

Worth said none were considered to be life-threatening.

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The highway was closed for several hours as the investigation took place, including an RCMP crash reconstruction analyst attending.

Police are particularly focused on how the white SUV came to be travelling southbound in the northbound lanes.

In the area of the crash, the two directions of travel are separated by a grassy median, with a lighted intersection approximately two kilometres to the north.

Worth said no charges have been laid yet.

“We are asking that if anyone witnessed the crash or has dashcam video depicting a white SUV travelling southbound in the northbound lanes of Hwy. 19 just preceding the crash, that they contact Oceanside RCMP.”

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