METRO VANCOUVER — Traffic on Burnaby Mountain was backed up for most of Wednesday night after a three-vehicle car crash killed one person.

The accident happened around 4 p.m. on Gaglardi Way, between Broadway and Eastlake Drive, near Simon Fraser University.

Police said Thursday a 2007 black Pontiac G5 travelling northbound up Gaglardi Way veered into oncoming traffic and struck a Chevrolet Blazer head on. A third vehicle was unable to avoid the collision and stuck the Pontiac.

The Pontiac's driver and lone occupant died as a result of the injuries he sustained. The Blazer's driver sustained a fractured leg and her passenger suffered minor injuries. The other driver was also treated for minor injuries.

"It is early in the investigation but speed, distracted driving, and road conditions may have been contributing factors in the crash," police said in a statement.

Drivers going up and down the mountain were able to navigate around the crash via the Burnaby Mountain Parkway, which remained slowed until mid Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the evening, Nigel Irwin told The Vancouver Sun that police were telling drivers the roads might be closed for up to four hours. He was driving up the mountain to SFU's UniverCity village at 6 p.m. with a 12-month-old baby in the car

Irwin said the traffic at the top of Burnaby Mountain was bumper-to-bumper, with some people waiting 15 minutes just to get out of the Simon Fraser University parking lot.

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