One of the three people involved in a dramatic crash in the Upper Squamish valley last weekend was a Pemberton resident. According to the Squamish RCMP, a 23 year-old from Pemberton was critically injured when the 1995 Toyota pick up truck she was in plunged over a cliff to the Elaho River 46 metres (150 feet) below.
Sgnt. Wayne Pride of the Squamish RCMP reported that the incident took place at Mile 39 of the Elaho Forest Service Road.
"The driver and two passengers were seriously injured and had to be air lifted to Vancouver General Hospital with numerous broken bones," Pride wrote in a news release.
The driver of the vehicle was a 28 year-old man from Vancouver and the other passenger in the vehicle was a 27 year-old woman also from Vancouver. The Squamish RCMP was called out to the incident at 2:50 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. All three vehicle occupants were found outside of the truck, conscious but injured, said Pride.
Squamish Search and Rescue (SSAR) volunteers were called in to help with the rescue. SSAR members used a long line Helicopter External Transport System to lift the three injured people up to the road so the victims could be transported to hospital by air ambulance.
Lisa Pilling, a spokesperson with the BC Ambulance Service, said the incident happened near the intersection of the Upper Squamish valley road and the Elaho Main Forest Service Road. She indicated one person was unconscious.
"Two ground ambulances and two air ambulances responded to the incident," said Pilling. She confirmed that all three people were flown from the scene in critical condition.
Pride noted that an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.
