A suspected drunk driver is being blamed for a collision with a hydro pole that led to the closure of the Mary Hill Bypass for most of Sunday.
The accident occurred at around 7:35 a.m. at the Broadway Avenue intersection and caused a transformer to fall from the pole. Because of the PCB chemicals in the transformer, a hazardous materials team was called in, which led to the closure of the road.
"The road wasn't opened until late in the afternoon," said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung. "Thankfully, it wasn't a weekday or it could have been traffic mayhem."
Still, vehicles travelling through Port Coquitlam were detoured throughout the day, causing major slowdowns on some of the city's arterial routes.
The driver of the grey Honda Odyssey was not hurt in the incident but Chung said police have launched an impaired driving investigation.
Several witnesses have come forward but police are encouraging anyone who witnessed the crash who have not yet spoken with investigators to come forward. Anyone with any information about the crash is asked to call 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2013-26884.
Sunday's accident was the third time in the last week that a collision has occurred at the Broadway and Mary Hill Bypass intersection.
The stretch of road is one of the more dangerous areas in Port Coquitlam, registering 209 accidents since 2008, 57 of which occurred in 2012. That puts the intersection in seventh place for most accidents in the municipality since 2008 and third place for 2012.
