By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

No seatbelts worn in crash that killed man, injured children on Hwy 4: RCMP

Feb 21, 2019 | 10:46 AM

PORT ALBERNI — Police say nobody was wearing a seatbelt in a single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 4 west of Port Alberni which left a man dead and three others injured.

RCMP say it happened at around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday west of the Sutton Pass summit where a vehicle with two adults and two children inside left the road, went down an embankment and came to rest against a tree.

Cpl. Michael Halskov of BC RCMP Traffic Services said a 28-year-old male passenger was pronounced dead on scene. He said the 25-year-old female driver and a three-year-old boy sustained significant injuries, while a six-year-old girl received minor injuries.

“Certainly had seatbelts been worn in this collision the likelihood that we’d be dealing with the significant types of injuries that resulted in this crash would have been greatly diminished,” Halskov told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Halskov said restraints and car seats should have been used specifically for the children.

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Halskov doesn’t believe any witnesses saw the westbound Chevrolet Cobalt go off the road and down the steep bank.

He said road conditions were icy at the time.

“The cause of the collision itself remains under investigation and nothing has been ruled out at this early stage.”

It’s believed everybody in the car is from the same family, which resides on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Halskov said.

Single-lane alternating traffic was in place for several hours following the crash.

The RCMP’s Central Island Traffic Services division based in Parksville has taken over the investigation.

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