Amazingly, a nine-car pileup on 16th Avenue resulted in no serious injuries Tuesday afternoon in South Langley.
The crash was the second incident in the 22100 block of 16th Avenue that afternoon.
Earlier in the day, a backhoe got stuck in a ditch on the south side of the busy two-lane road, said Langley Township assistant fire chief Bruce Ferguson.
A heavy-duty tow truck was at the site by 4 p.m. and was hauling the backhoe out. While it worked, traffic eastbound was temporarily stopped.
A line of seven cars formed, and at the back of the line, a semi-trailer truck waited.
The ninth vehicle, another semi-trailer truck hauling frozen food, apparently failed to stop and plowed into the first truck, said Ferguson.
That truck was driven forward and all the other cars collided, domino-style.
“There was no serious injuries,†said Ferguson.
Firefighters had already been on the scene, helping with the first issue with the backhoe. Other crews that had been calledout after the first collision rushed back, sirens blaring, along with Langley RCMP and ambulance crews.
The second crash resulted in a total closure of 16th Avenue between 224th Street and 216th Street during the busy evening rush hour. Cars and trucks were diverted as far south as Zero Avenue.
Ferguson said the work of firefighters was complete by 6 p.m. and they headed back to their halls, but the road was still closed off by police for some time after that.