Fatal motorcycle crash closes Sea to Sky Highway north of Vancouver for hours

SQUAMISH — A female motorcyclist has been killed in a crash on British Columbia’s Sea to Sky Highway that shut down the route for more than eight hours.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says it is looking into the crash to see if police actions are linked to the fatal crash.

Police says the crash happened at around 5:30 p.m. Sunday when B.C. Highway Patrol officers conducting speed enforcement saw two motorcycles speeding and driving erratically.

RCMP say that the officers “left their position along the highway” and moments later found one of the motorcycles had crashed with a recreational vehicle.

The police watchdog agency says officers were attempting a traffic stop, which both drivers ignored, and the motorcyclist who crashed was declared dead at the scene.

The highway didn’t fully reopen until almost 3 a.m. Monday, and traffic remained heavy afterwards as stranded vehicles made their way past the site.

Vancouver resident Brittany Michalchuk says she arrived at the closure about an hour after the crash on her way home from Squamish.

She describes the scene as feeling “almost apocalyptic” with more than a thousand vehicles trapped in both directions north of the Village of Lions Bay.

Michalchuk says she saw people sleeping on the roadway, and many expressed concerns about running out of water, food and phone battery as the closure stretched into the night.

“The whole scene was surreal: people setting up for the night on the highway, families waiting in their cars, both lanes completely shut down, and no clear timeline for when anyone would be able to move,” she says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

The Canadian Press