A Princeton RCMP member was the first emergency responder to arrive at the scene of a significant rockslide on Highway 3 last Thursday night.
And Corporal Chad Parsons was just on his way home from work.
No one was injured in the slide, which caused two separate vehicle accidents and slowed traffic on the highway west of Hedley for several hours.
“I was just heading home and came around the corner and there were quite a few people on the scene, civilians, just trying to slow traffic down as it came around the corner,” said Parsons.
“If they weren’t there it was possible someone else would have hit those rocks…They did a really good job.” Parsons said both vehicles that collided with rocks were heavily damaged and in both cases the air bags deployed.
“Luckily no one was hurt in either car. There were some big rocks falling on the road.” The driver of a third vehicle witnessed the slide, said Parsons, as he was pulled over on the side of the road to use his cell phone.
“They fell right in front of him. He was lucky he didn’t get caught up in it.” The rockslide was likely triggered by heavy rain, he said.
Members of the Hedley Volunteer Fire Department responded to an initial call for help and helped clear the highway. That was a task involving certain risks, said Parsons.
“We could definitely hear the rock up there still moving around. There’s a concern about that. Just because some rocks are on the ground it doesn’t mean they are done falling. There’s an instability that you have to worry about.”