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UPDATE: Abbotsford woman was driving vehicle involved in car accident at Vedder Road freeway overpass

Witnesses say a car exited the freeway at a high speed and ended up down a hill on its roof
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A car that came off the freeway at the Vedder Road exit ended up on the opposite side of a busy road, lying on its roof down a hill next to Jiffy Lube. (Eric J. Welsh/ The Progress)

RCMP say a 46-year-old woman from Abbotsford was behind the wheel of a vehicle that was involved in a major accident Sunday afternoon near the Vedder Road overpass in Chilliwack.

According to Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail and witnesses at the scene, the women was driving a dark grey SUV that left Highway No. 1 at exit No. 119. But instead of turning right onto Vedder Road, it kept going straight at a high speed. Getting airborne, it cleared the concrete median separating north and southbound traffic. Rail said the SUV hit two vehicles on the northbound side, including the back driver-side corner of a pickup truck camper.

After clipping those vehicles, witnesses say it spun around a couple times and tumbled down a hill before coming to a rest, on its roof, at the self-serve car wash next to the Jiffy Lube oil change centre.

Debris was strewn across the northbound lanes and traffic was reduced to one lane for quite some time as a fire engine, ambulance and police responded.

The woman was pulled from her vehicle by bystanders and was attended to at the scene.

As of Monday morning, Rail had no update on her condition and said the incident remains under investigation as officers try to determine whether the cause was mechanical failure, medical distress or something else.


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eric.welsh@theprogress.com

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Emergency crews respond after a single vehicle tumbles down the hill by the Jiffy Lube oil change centre. (Eric J. Welsh/ The Progress)


Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
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