Organizers will have a look at barrier options for next year after a "miracle" lack of injuries during a crash at last night's final street market of the season in Oak Bay.
In a crash attributed to the lowering sun, just after 7 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 10) a driver plowed through the barrier at Monterey Avenue and Oak Bay Avenue, said market organizer Elizabeth Smith, president of the Oak Bay Business Improvement Association.
"I heard this almighty crash and I knew it was the sound of a car crash," said Smith, still shaken the next morning. "I made sure my vendors were OK."
Oak Bay Police were quick on the scene, in fact an officer was already at the intersection, she added, and it appeared the crash was deemed purely accidental.
A fundraising booth at the Oak Bay Village Night Market bore the brunt of the crash, with broken merchandise. But the 74-year-old vendor at the end of the market was more concerned with getting her registration in for next year, Smith said with a chuckle.
"What could have happened is unthinkable," the organizer added, noting it's the first time in 14 years of closing the Ave for myriad events that this has happened.
"I hope it's the last."