Fatal motorcycle crash leaves travellers stranded on B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky Highway overnight

Hundreds of people were stranded on british people Columbia's Sea-to-Sky main road overnight, where a bike break up left wing one woman dead and prompted a lengthy closure.

The crash happened near the Deeks Creek Bridge, about an 18-kilometre drive north of Horseshoe Bay, around 5:30 p.m. PT.

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The highway did not reopen until around 2 a.m. PT, prompting some travellers to sleep in their cars, and others to seek out motels and campsites in the Squamish area — or even set up camp on the roadway.

In a news release, B.C. RCMP said Highway Patrol officers who were conducting speed enforcement spotted a pair of motorcyclists that were "reportedly speeding and driving erratically."

"The officer left their position along the highway and moments later located one of the motorcyclists who was involved in a collision with a recreational vehicle," RCMP said.

"The female motorcyclist was declared deceased at the scene."

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO), which probes all deaths or incidents of serious harm that may have been the result of the actions or inactions of a police officer, is investigating and is expected to provide an update later on Monday.

The B.C. Coroners Service is conducting its own investigation as well.

B.C. Emergency Health Services said it deployed two ground ambulances and one air ambulance to the scene, but did not transport anyone to hospital.

Brittany Michalchuk was on her way home to Vancouver when she got caught in the closure, and began taking pictures.

She said some people were able to make a U-turn to head back to Squamish to find somewhere to stay, but many vehicles were trapped by a cliff face on one side and a concrete barrier on the other.

“It took me an hour to rollerblade to the front of the line.... There were elders, there were mothers that were nursing, people had to catch flights," she said.

“I saw people playing card games, I saw people setting up full dinner tables. These were a lot of campers, right? They had picnic essentials, they had foldable tables, they had tents. A lot of people were biking.”

Akshita Narula said the incident left her and her four- and seven-year-old children stranded for about eight hours.

The family had not packed extra food or water, but thankfully were able to share with other travellers.

"Most of the people were coming back from camping, so they had some supplies, but yeah, we didn't have really anything to do, so [my kids] were just crying," she said.

Narula said there was no internet service and no communication from officials on site about what was happening or how long the wait would be. She said officials should have also helped with water or supplies.

"Emergencies do happen, it's just like they could have done more with how they handled it," she said.

RCMP said it would not be commenting further due to the IIO investigation.

Witnesses or anyone who has video of the motorcyclists between Britannia Beach and the crash scene are asked to contact police at 604-526-9744.

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