At about 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 14, a fully loaded cement truck rolled over inside the brake check pullout at the top of the Langdale bypass in Gibsons. The driver, who was initially trapped inside the truck, was freed with the help of the Gibsons Fire Department, and did not sustain any injuries.
“It appears as though the truck had been travelling at a very slow speed on a straight and level portion of the pullout, when it experienced a mechanical failure,” said Const. Harrison Mohr with Sunshine Coast RCMP.
“The weight and momentum of the rotating cement drum caused the truck to then flip over onto its side. It is extremely fortunate that not only was the driver not hurt, but that this failure occurred inside the brake check, and not out on the roadway,” Mohr said.
He said the drum had to be cut free from the truck before the truck could be righted, “due to the sheer weight of the cement inside the drum, and the fact that it began hardening shortly after the mixer stopped turning.”
The brake check pullout was closed for most of the evening because of the accident and vehicles required to perform a brake check prior to going down the bypass were directed to use the gravel pullout across from the dedicated brake check.
