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UPDATE: Black ice leads to several collisions in Abbotsford

Among them was an early-morning accident that left thousands of households in the dark on Monday morning.
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BC Hydro workers were kept busy Monday morning as a traffic accident knocked down a power pole in Abbotsford. More than 3

Black ice contributed to several collisions Monday morning in Abbotsford.

Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said most of the crashes occurred between 4:30 and 6 a.m. before the temperature rose and melted the ice.

The only one outside of those hours was at about 1 a.m. in the 29000 block of Fraser Highway, when a vehicle slid into a ditch.

A few hours later – at 4:40 a.m. – a Jeep Liberty was heading west on Fraser Highway just past Mt. Lehman Road when the driver hit a patch of black ice, slid into the oncoming traffic lane and into a snowbank. The vehicle landed on its roof at the side of the road, and the driver suffered only minor injuries.

Another collision took place at 4:47 a.m. on Harris Road near Gladwin. The driver of a westbound Dodge Ram pickup attempted to pass the vehicle in front of him, lost control and went off the road.

Just two minutes later, a driver heading west on Maclure Road near Clearbrook Road lost traction and ran into a hydro pole. The impact toppled the pole and sent power lines across the road, landing on the roof of an eastbound car.

MacDonald said the driver of that car remained in her vehicle until rescue crews arrived.

The incident left 3,200 BC Hydro customers without power, covering an area east/west from Clearbrook Road to Automall Drive and north/south from Downes Road to Peardonville Road.

By 11 a.m., power had been restored to all but 145 customers. Their power is expected to be back on by 1:30 p.m.

A 6 a.m. MVA knocked out the power for another 300 Hydro customers in the Matsqui Village area, south of Dyke Road and north of Harris Road. Their services will be restored in the early afternoon, Hydro estimates.

The last incident took place at about 6 a.m., when a Mazda CX-7 travelling east on Blueridge Drive towards Clearbrook Road spun out in the middle of the road and got stuck.

The driver was able to move her vehicle a few minutes later when city crews arrived on the scene.

MacDonald said other areas of Abbotsford were also icy, including Straiton Road, which police shut down for a few hours until it could be salted/sanded.

 

 

 

 



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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