"This needs to stop": Lower Mainland trucking company suspended after sixth infrastructure crash in two years

Another traffic nightmare for commuters Thursday night on one of BC’s busiest routes as a result of a commercial vehicle hitting an overpass has led to a major response from the province’s transportation minister.

Minister Rob Fleming released a statement following the latest incident, which saw Highway 99 closed southbound in Delta after the semi-truck hit the 112th Street overpass around lunchtime.

Saying in part that “this needs to stop.”

“In the interest of public safety, B.C.’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch (CVSE) has used its new powers to suspend the safety certificate for Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd.

Skilled Truckers Canada/Facebook

“This suspension is a result of the company’s unwillingness or inability to operate safely within the province following its sixth infrastructure crash in two years.”

The ministry says the entire fleet of 65 commercial vehicles will be unable to operate as of Friday afternoon, and “the driver and the carrier responsible will face the toughest fines in the country.”

Another overpass crash today wedged this object between Highway 99 and the 112th St overpass in Delta. This video was sent in by a @DailyHiveVan reader pic.twitter.com/Mz9g8YV90e

— Megan Devlin (@MegDevlinn) December 28, 2023

Many have condemned the province and the police over the lack of arrests and charges connected to the numerous crashes in recent years.

The company has already received tickets connected to the five other overpass crashes, including a previous incident at Highway 99’s 112th overpass in February 2022.

BC government’s website.

According to the company’s website, it is based in Surrey, and maintenance is conducted on its fleet in Langley.

“While some companies can do the job, Chohan Carriers Ltd. strives to be the one that can do it well and do it consistently. Our goal is to ease the stress that often accompanies freight forwarding and scheduling. You could say we deliver peace of mind,” the website reads in part.

While many motorists weren’t laughing Thursday as they were forced to detour around the collision onto Ladner Trunk road through stop-and-go traffic, others are pointing out there’s some humour in it all.

It has been 0 days since the last overheight vehicle hit a Metro Vancouver Overpass.

Previous Record – 40 Days.

Longest Record – 79 Days. pic.twitter.com/lYZFOCj4dZ

— Metro Vancouver Overpass Impact Counter (@MVOverpassDWI) December 28, 2023

The Metro Vancouver Overpass Impact Counter has been updated to reflect that BC is now at zero days since an overpass was struck.

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With files from Megan Devlin