Traffic was held to a standstill for an hour on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Vancouver last week, but at least passengers weren’t bored. The backup was caused when a semi struck the back of a pickup truck, which was carrying a massive load of fireworks. The crash ignited the fireworks, creating an hour-long show for everyone stuck in traffic.
Both passengers in the semi and pickup were able to get out mostly unharmed, though the pickup driver was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. However, the pickup itself didn’t survive, as it was burnt to a crisp, due to it being turned into a four-wheeled mortar tube.
“Obviously, the fireworks were quite the display to passerby motorists,” said Cpl. Carmen Kiener of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, per CBC.
You might imagine that a massive fireworks display would ease the pain of being stuck in gridlock for an entire hour. And while it probably wasn’t the worst way to spend all that time trapped in a car, this fireworks show was a bit more violent than your average town fair’s, since they were all ignited at once.
“It was loud, aggressive, kind of coming out of nowhere, so it was all around us,” said motorist Monica De Roo, according to CTV. “It was definitely scary.”
CTV reported that the truck with the explosive cargo was pulled off to the side of the road when the semi collided with it, pushing the pickup into a ditch. If the semi was the vehicle at fault, does the trucking company’s insurance have to pay for the cost of the fireworks, which 9News Australia reported to be $100,000?
An impromptu pyrotechnics show on a night drive doesn’t sound too bad, but it’s a bit different when the spectacle happens at ground level, there are motor vehicles on fire, and you’re a captive audience to the display. One onlooker described it to CBC as a “raging inferno,” but also, the “best fireworks show I’ll ever see.” Yeah, that about sums it up.
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