Cargo of fireworks explodes into hour-long light show after Highway 1 crash near Hope, B.C. - Action News
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British Columbia

Cargo of fireworks explodes into hour-long light show after Highway 1 crash near Hope, B.C.

A collision on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Vancouver resulted in an hour-long light show on Thursday night after the crash caused a cargo of fireworks to ignite.

Highway's eastbound lanes closed after collision between semi-trailer and parked pickup towing fireworks

Fireworks explode above Hwy 1 in B.C. after collision ignited truck's cargo

10 months ago
Duration 0:49
A crash involving a semi-trailer and a pickup truck on Highway 1 near Hope, B.C., led to an impromptu, hour-long light show on Oct. 26, 2023, RCMP said. The eastbound lanes of the highway were closed due to the accidental pyrotechnics.

A collision on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Vancouver resulted in an hour-long light show on Thursday night after the crash caused a cargo of fireworks to ignite.

RCMP saida semi-trailertravelling eastboundcollided with a pickup truck towing a trailer full of fireworks that was parked on the side of the roadabout10 kilometres west of Hope, B.C.

The crash, which happened around 10 p.m. PT,caused the fireworks to go off, resultingin flashes and explosions above the highway.

Cpl. Carmen Kiener with Chilliwack RCMP said the incident closed Highway 1 eastbound for about an hour, until the fireworks eventually stopped.

"Obviously, the fireworks were quite the display to passerby motorists," she said.

'Raging inferno'

Ryan Kuhn said he was on his way to Hope, about 125 kilometres east of Vancouver, on Thursday night when he saw "a raging inferno of fireworks."

"I came around a corner and, well, saw fireworks.It seemed very strange for 10 o'clock at night," Kuhn told CBC News.

Crash involving fireworks lights up B.C. highway

10 months ago
Duration 2:14
A collision involving a cargo of fireworks on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Vancouver resulted in an impromptu light show.

Kuhn said vehicles on the highway slowed down or stopped to watch the fireworks, which he described as the "best fireworks show I'll ever see."

"It was a bit of mayhem," he said, describing thesemi-trailer, which he said had caught on fire.

Video taken by people at the scene shows fireworks exploding high in the sky above the highway, as continuous pops and bangs are heard.

RCMP and B.C. Emergency Health Services said one person was taken tohospital.

Kiener said the driverswere the only occupants of the vehicles, and that investigators are continuingto determine the cause of the crash.

Corrections

  • A previous version of this story contained information initially provided by the RCMP that two people were taken to hospital as a result of the crash. In fact, only one person was taken to hospital.
    Oct 27, 2023 4:45 PM PT

With files from Charis Hogg