Rescuers pry roof to save woman in crash

Sooke firefighters had to use mechanical jaws to take the roof off a pickup Tuesday morning to rescue a woman after her vehicle went off the road in slick conditions on West Coast Road.

Conditions in the area started to deteriorate quickly about 10:20 a.m., said Sooke Fire Chief Kenn Mount.

“Within about 10 minutes, the downtown Sooke core area probably got about five centimetres of snowy hail.”

At that point, he said, Sooke Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call reporting a pickup had gone into a ditch and a person was trapped. “It went into the ditch nose-first and hit the rock embankment.”

Mount said the woman couldn’t get out due to damage to the cab, so mechanical jaws were needed. He said she was conscious and seemed to be experiencing back pain.

Mount said an extra set of tires was found in the ditch, so the woman might have been planning to have better tires put on the vehicle.

En route to the 911 call, firefighters had to pass another traffic incident. “I did a second alarm for more members to support it.”

The Otter Point Fire Department was also on alert for back-up duty.

Mount said the morning’s events show how quickly things can change on the road at this time of year.

“I think that was a great example that within 10 minutes, we can have extreme winter driving conditions that people aren’t ready for,” he said. “My message, as well, is be prepared in the winter for the highway to be closed for a significant time. You could be stuck for a while.”

Today’s forecast is for a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 6° C. Winds up to about 50 kilometres per hour are expected to ease tonight. It will mostly sunny through Sunday, with temperatures during the week as low as 0° on Thursday.