‘Sunk to the axles’: Driver fined after pick-up truck gets stuck on Tsawwassen Beach
Posted June 16, 2021 11:44 am.
Last Updated June 16, 2021 7:20 pm.
TSAWWASSEN (NEWS 1130) – The driver of a pick-up truck has been fined after their vehicle became stuck on the beach for hours near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal during low tide Tuesday night.
Angela Russell, who saw the ordeal unfold, says two trucks were driven out onto the shore so people could take pictures. But when they tried to drive out, one refused to budge.
“He got out of it the first time, drove through where he got stuck … He backed up very slowly into where he got stuck the first time, and got stuck fully,” she said.
She says police officers, firefighters, and random strangers all got involved in the efforts to get the truck out as the water got closer and closer.
“They tried digging out the truck with shovels and pretty much everything the fire department had on hand, they were trying. People from the community were out with ropes, trying to get them out,” Russell explained.
Delta Police says when officers arrived to help, the truck was “sunk to the axles” on the beach.
“The officer observed deep ruts in the beach and in the seaweed, and noted driftwood had been displaced,” said Cris Leykauf with Delta Police.
A truck became stuck on the beach near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal on July 15, 2021. (Courtesy: Angela Russell)
Russell says the truck became stranded at around 7:30 p.m. and wasn’t out of harm’s way until around 10 p.m.
“Maybe an hour after they had gotten stuck, where they originally started taking pictures of their vehicles, [the truck] was under water. You could no longer see that part of the shore,” she said.
“I was thinking it was going to literally flow away because the tides came in very quickly!”
A large tow-truck eventually arrived and was able to get the pick-up out although by then, the water had reached the tires. Police say the vehicle was drivable after it was pulled off the beach.
The driver was given a Tsawwassen First Nation violation ticket for “harvesting or damaging resources” on the nation’s public land, as well as a Motor Vehicle Act ticket for careless operation of an off-road vehicle.
