RCMP said a truck was making a left-hand turn when it collided with the scooter travelling through the intersection

A man is loaded onto a waiting BC Air Ambulance helicopter that landed on the southbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway just past the intersection at Coronation Mall in Ladysmith on Monday morning. (Mike Gregory Photo)

A local man in his early 60s was critically injured following a collision between a scooter and a pickup truck in Ladysmith on Monday morning.

The accident occurred before 11 a.m. at the intersection of North Davis Road and Chemainus Road in front of Coronation Mall.

Ladysmith RCMP Staff Sgt. Ken Brissard said the Ram 1500 was making a left-hand turn to go northbound on the Trans-Canada Highway when it collided with a Yamaha scooter travelling through the intersection.

“That’s all we know right now. We don’t know who had the right-of-way,” Brissard added.

The driver and passenger in the pickup remained at the scene to be interviewed by RCMP officers. There was visible damage to both the front bumper and grill of the vehicle.

BC Ambulance paramedics and Ladysmith firefighters treated the man in the intersection as southbound traffic was diverted off of the highway and onto North Davis Road.

Brissard told the Chronicle that the man’s injuries are “critical.”

Traffic was later shut down in both directions for upwards of half an hour as a BC Air Ambulance helicopter landed on the highway to transport the man to hospital.

There were a few tense moments after the crash victim had been loaded onto the helicopter when it powered down again on the highway and emergency personnel made their way over.

It turned out an advance life support paramedic was on board and required more gear.

The RCMP’s South Island Traffic division out of Chemainus will now work to reconstruct the scene.

“They’ll look at measurements and any other marks that are on the road as well as damage to the vehicles and they’ll try and piece it together,” Brissard said.

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