By lan Noble News Reporter THE runaway truck involved in Friday’s deadly accident was over- loaded by almost five tons (4,535 kilograms), said motor vehicle inspec- tor Jay Northcott Tuesday. The soil and rock-laden truck picked up a head of steam coming down steep 22nd Street in West Vancouver. The vehicle struck and killed one pedestrian and sent a driver and another pedestrian to hospital when it sped through Marine Drive. Northcott said the dump truck is licensed for 25,500 kilograms (28.1 tons), but actually weighed 30,020 kilograms (33 tons) at the time of the accident. In addition, four of the dump truck’s six brakes were not working properly. Two of them were mechanically defective, while nwo others were not adjusted properly, said Northcott. West Vancouver Set. Barry Nickerson said the dump truck had already begun to pick up speed descending 22nd by the time it reached Queens, a few blocks below Highway 1. The truck motored through the four-way stop sign at Queens. The driver of the dump truck exercised his right to retain a lawyer before speaking to police, said Nickerson. Nickerson said police are not releasing the name of the driver or the company he works for. Under the Freedom of Information Act, police can’t identify those under criminal investigation until charges are laid. The police are interviewing approximately 30 witnesses. They expect to collate the informa- tion and determine if there is sufficient evidence to bring charges forward to Crown counsel. “I'm hopeful we will have all the information by the end of the week and maybe get it before He faced a ‘silent monster’ From page through the busy intersection. Sgt. Barry Nickerson said McHale, a parks mechanics supervisor, and co-work- er Stephen Scully prevented more carnage. “By good luck and (McHale’s) actions, he was able to virtually clear the intersection, except for the one vehicle.” Said McHale on Monday: “I felt like throwing up all weekend. I didn’t sleep all weekend. I still feel pretty nervous about it.” McHale’s heroics began Friday, just as the dump truck picked up speed as its brakes failed. Over his radio, he heard a panicky Scully say that a dump truck with a full load was careering down 22nd, without brakes. “McHale, driving south on 22nd, looked in his rear view mirror and saw the truck bearing down on him and the three or four cars between his truck and the dump truck. McHiale said the light rurned green at Marine. He darted across Marine and jumped out of his car on the southwest corner of the intersection. He then ran into the intersection, screaming at the top of his lungs for peo- ple to get out of the way. He turned toward the truck expecting to hear the driver gearing down or blar- ing his horn. Instead, nothing. “Ir was like this silent monster coming toward me,” said McHale. McHale had cleared the intersection, save for a Toyota 4-Runner. McHale said he was in front and off to the left of the 4X4, screaming at the female driver, later identified by police as Mo Yee Kwong of Richmond, to move. She froze, said McHale. The dump truck, which McHale esti- mates was travelling at 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour), hit the inter- section and turned to its left. “If he had gone to my left I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” said McHale. The dump truck driver tried to avoid the 4-Runner but she turned at the same time and the dump truck hit the 4-Runner “and sent it sailing,” said McHale. The dump truck then hit power poles, which came down with lines and sparks flying everywhere. “FE had to basically run for my life at that point,” said McHale. He ran to the burning dump truck, but he did not have time to get the fire extinguisher trom his truck to extinguish a rear brake fire. Instead, he rold two others to get the — extinguisher. Ultimately, Petro Canada’s Tony Martin performed that task. McHale tried to stop the bleeding from the head of North Vancouver's Bjorn Bjornson, who later died. McHale assumed Bjornson, who was wearing © head phones, didn't hear McHale’s shouting and didn’t see the truck com- ing. McHale stayed at the scene for 1 hours, helping ambulance crews and talk- ing to police. : Then he went home, “and that’s where it hit me. I was pretty scared after that. It was pretty horrifying.” ; Crown counsel by the end of this week, but there is no guarantee,” he said. . On Saturday, police identified other: involved in the accident. Mo Yee Kwong, a 40- year-ald Richmond resident, was the driver of the Toyota 4-Runner struck by the dump truck, Her car ended up nearly a block away on an apartment lawn after destroying part of a hedge. | Ls She was admitted to Lions Gate Hospital with a broken pelvis. A second pedestrian, Vancouver resident Francine Haine, received minor injuries. She was admitted to Lions Gate for treatment and obser- vation. . ; NOW-NOTARY ON SITE . North Van. 440-1199 Lynn Valley Rd. Lynn Valley Centre 986-1155 West Van.” 1445 Marine Drive (Beside McDonald's) 925-3533 - ae ‘We waxt ta le yaue Susurauce Braker” HELPING THE WORLD : WRITE NOW en CODE Self-sufficiency through literacy in the developing wortd For information, call 1-800-661-2633 Worried about interest rates? North Shore cant help with tvo safe and smart new options, Both let you secure a guaranteed -HEDGING YOUR BETS in a low interest environment. good rate now and convert for a better one, if interest rates rise. FLEXterm-3, with 3 You Belong Here Bila NORTH SHORE Bash CREDIT UNION years of climbing rates. And Escalator-5, with a premium 3 year rate. So up or down, you're still ou track to financial independence. Call 713 3000.