After 5-day hunt, suspect in fatal high-speed crash near Ladysmith arrested

A five-day search for the suspect in a deadly high-speed crash outside of Ladysmith, B.C., ended Wednesday with the man's arrest.

Mounties said in a statement the man was arrested on "unrelated matters" early Wednesday and remains in custody on Vancouver Island. Neither his name nor his exact location are being released, as charges haven't been laid.

For days, police had urged a driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run on Saturday morning to turn himself in to police. Officers believed the man was injured due to the force of the crash and alleged he had fled the scene in another vehicle.

One person was killed and several others were hurt in the multi-vehicle crash near a busy intersection of Highway 1 around 8:30 a.m. PT.

Police said a Ford F-150 pickup truck driving south near Oyster Sto'Lo Road had hit the high concrete median dividing the highway, sending the vehicle into the air. The truck then collided with oncoming northbound traffic, hitting at least one SUV head-on.

The driver of the SUV, a 35-year-old woman from the Ladysmith area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash left about 100 metres of wreckage strewn along the highway, police said. The pickup hit with such force, its engine was ejected before it barrel-rolled down the highway, they said.

Witnesses saw the driver crawl out of the wreckage and drive away in a vehicle from a nearby residence, according to police.

Investigators said they were in contact with the man after the crash and expected him to turn himself in.

The RCMP said its investigation continues. The BC Coroners Service is also investigating.