B.C. dump truck driver issued 10 tickets after crash disrupts road, rail traffic

Burnaby RCMP officers were called to the single-vehicle crash on Boundary Road, near Myrtle Street, shortly after 1 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2025. (Handout)

Mounties in British Columbia say a dump truck driver has been issued 10 violation tickets after a crash knocked out a pair of utility poles and disrupted traffic for hours along a busy road and railway track.

Burnaby RCMP officers were called to the single-vehicle crash on Boundary Road, near Myrtle Street, shortly after 1 p.m. on Jan. 13, the detachment said in a statement Thursday, more than two weeks after the incident.

Investigators say the dump truck was pulling a trailer when it struck a lamp post and a hydro pole, knocking them down.

No one was injured in the collision, which stalled road and rail traffic through the area for several hours, police said.

“Our investigators believe that a proper pre-trip inspection could have caught several defects that may have prevented this collision,” Cpl. Mike Kalanj said in the statement.

“We are extremely lucky that nobody was hurt as a result of this incident, as the truck was travelling downhill with ineffective brakes.”

The dump truck and trailer were towed from the scene. An inspection revealed the vehicle was in violation of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, according to police.

The driver was ticketed for 10 alleged violations, including failing to ensure the vehicle was in safe operating condition, failing to comply with trip inspection requirements and exceeding the axle weight of both the truck and the trailer, the statement said.

Last year, the Burnaby RCMP officers inspected 1,352 commercial trucks as part of planned enforcement operations, removing 827 of those trucks – more than 61 per cent – from the road and issuing 3,744 violations, according to police.