Two pickup trucks crashed on the Malahat near Split Rock just before 8 a.m. Thursday morning, June 23, causing snarled traffic at one of the busiest times of the day.
"It looked like another case of a vehicle crossing the centre line," Malahat Fire Chief Rob Patterson.
"Two pickup trucks were involved. There was one person in each truck. They were both taken to hospital. There was a male in the Chevy; he was out of the vehicle and able to communicate. The female, the [paramedics] had to pull her out of the truck she was in. She was in tough shape. They had to transport her."
The Malahat was closed in both directions and traffic was forced to detour onto South Shawnigan Lake Road while the site was kept blocked off, waiting for the accident investigation team to arrive.
"There is a lot of traffic still stuck on the hill because there are big trucks that can't turn around," Patterson said just after 10 a.m. Thursday morning. "But it shouldn't remain closed for too long. They [the investigation team] are on their way from Nanaimo now."