1 man dead, 1 woman in serious condition after Malahat car crash

One man is dead and a woman is in hospital in serious condition after a three-car crash on the Malahat Saturday afternoon.

B.C. Emergency Health Services said they were dispatched to the scene on the northbound lane of the Vancouver Island roadway near Aspen Road north of Victoria just before 1 p.m.

The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed that one person has died. 

The dead man has been identified as David James Tilley, 46, the son of a former St. John's city councillor.

Lizy Gipson was on her way up to Mill Bay when she came across the scene shortly after the crash happened. She was one of four people who performed CPR on the man who died. 

"It makes me grateful to be alive," she said. 

Gipson and her partner were on the road when they first came across a southbound vehicle with minor damage. 

When traffic quickly came to a standstill, Gipson, 52, got out of her car and walked up the road to see if her first aid training could be of use. 

"There were all kinds of car parts that were strewn across the highway," she said. 

Then Gipson saw a minivan-type vehicle in the middle of the highway and another one near the ditch.

The latter had two people inside. Gipson said the man was seriously injured when she got to the vehicle. The woman in the passenger seat, who identified herself as the man's wife, was also injured but was still conscious. 

Both victims couldn't be removed from the car, Gipson said. She performed CPR on the man and was quickly joined by three other men who helped her. 

"Everybody was not giving up," she said.

Gipson said paramedics took the woman out of the vehicle on a stretcher, and they pronounced the man dead at the scene. 

The crash took place in a construction zone with 60 km/h restrictions. It's not clear what caused the crash. 

The highway was temporarily closed Saturday afternoon, and fully reopened by the evening. DriveBC says drivers should expect delays.