Fatal motorcycle crash shuts British Columbia highway for hours as police investigate

A woman has died following a motorcycle crash that closed British Columbia's Sea-to-Sky Highway for several hours, leaving thousands of motorists stranded overnight.

BC RCMP said the incident happened at around 5:30 PM on Sunday near the Deeks Creek Bridge, south of Porteau Cove.

According to police, a British Columbia Highway Patrol officer carrying out speed enforcement spotted two motorcyclists allegedly speeding and riding erratically on Highway 99.

Police said the riders did not stop when officers attempted to pull them over and the officer followed them and shortly afterwards discovered one of the motorcycles had collided with a recreational vehicle.

The female motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.

Because a police officer was involved in the incident, the BC RCMP said it has notified the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia.

The highway patrol continues to investigate and is asking anyone with dashcam footage or information about the motorcyclists' movements between Britannia Beach and the crash site to come forward.

The highway reopened at around 2:00 AM on Monday. Motorists caught in the closure criticised the lack of communication.

Speaking to the news outlet, Brittany Michalchuk said: “People had missed flights; people were nursing their babies on the side of the road; there were children sleeping on the pavement and there was just thousands of people that were gridlocked in both directions that didn’t have answers.”