MVI near Sun Peaks Lodge sends two to hospital

On March 22, a Volvo SUV carrying two people flipped onto its passenger side on Creekside Way in front of Sun Peaks Lodge, sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries, according to Dean Schiavon, Sun Peaks’ fire chief.

Schiavon told SPIN the fire department was paged to the scene at 6:33 p.m. and found the passengers trapped in the SUV. An off-duty paramedic was already on the scene when the fire department arrived, he added. To get the passengers out, firefighters accessed the sunroof and the trunk before an ambulance arrived.

The road conditions along Creekside Way have reportedly been poor with built-up ice between vehicle tracks, which could destabilize a vehicle due to the height of the ice between tire tracks.

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality’s (SPMRM) chief administrative officer Shane Bourke said there had been built-up ice in this section of Creekside way because of a lack of sun.

“There are a few areas [in Sun Peaks] that get minimal sunlight and have [ice] build-up. Those areas have been receiving extra salt and sand to assist the melting process. One of those areas was that short section on Creekside that has had a build-up and has had some extra [salting and sanding],” Bourke said.

According to Bourke, ice removal depends on weather conditions to melt the ice berms because salt and sand alone can’t do the job.

“It’s frozen pretty hard, and equipment [doesn’t] have an impact,” he said.

Bourke added the municipality would evaluate road conditions and resident feedback to decide if changes are needed next year. 

“Any time there’s an incident, we look back to see what we can do to improve,” Bourke said.

SPMRM has a new contractor for snow removal this year, and Bourke said some areas improved and others needed more attention.

“There were definitely some differences in how the roads were maintained [this year]. Some areas saw improvements, [including snow removal and road widening], and some need more attention in how we deploy the equipment,” he said.

Bourke noted the municipality has recently purchased and started using a sander for additional sanding and salting to increase road safety in the community.

SPIN reached out to RCMP for comment about the incident but did not receive a response in time for publication.