Traffic along Hwy. 19 north of Nanaimo was shut down for around an hour and a half on Friday, March 20, due to a motor vehicle incident involving a pedestrian (Image Credit: Adrienne Miller)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

serious incident

Pedestrian-involved motor vehicle incident briefly shuts down highway north of Nanaimo

Mar 20, 2026 | 7:44 PM

NANAIMO — A significant motor vehicle incident briefly closed traffic north of the city.

RCMP report a pedestrian was struck along Hwy. 19, near the Shell service station at Lantzville Rd., shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, March 20.

Few details about the nature of the incident are available, however RCMP tell NanaimoNewsNOW they have personnel on scene investigating and will be redirecting traffic as needed.

As of 7:30 p.m., traffic was beginning to move through the area slowly as the backlog of vehicles cleared.

DriveBC highway cameras showed considerable backups both northbound and southbound either side of the incident.

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Motorists were asked to avoid the area or delay their trips wherever possible, with Mounties asking for patience for those caught in traffic due to the incident.

This story will be updated as information becomes available.

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