Image: Submitted anonymously / A Canada Post service vehicle driven by a letter carrier somehow wound up in a ditch on the south side of Yale Road Wednesday afternoon near Little Mountain in Chilliwack. A Canada Post spokesperson says one of its drivers swerved to avoid hitting an unleashed dog that allegedly ran onto the street and wound up in a ditch on Yale Road in Chilliwack Wednesday. However, a Yale Road resident who lives where the incident occurred disputes that account, saying security camera footage shows that the postal employee was not in the vehicle when it rolled into the ditch, and that it occurred because the postal employee did not put the vehicle in park. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Canada Post

Update: Canada Post says its driver swerved to avoid an unleashed dog on Yale Road, but resident disputes that account

Jan 10, 2024 | 3:37 PM

CHILLIWACK — A Canada Post spokesperson says one of its drivers swerved to avoid hitting an unleashed dog that allegedly ran onto the street and wound up in a ditch on Yale Road in Chilliwack Wednesday.

However, according to an email submitted to Fraser Valley Today Thursday afternoon through an online portal, there are questions about how and why the postal vehicle ended up in the ditch.

Sometime Wednesday afternoon, January 10, a Canada Post service vehicle driven by a letter carrier wound up in a ditch on the south side of Yale Road Wednesday afternoon near Little Mountain in Chilliwack. Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu says the driver apparently swerved to avoid an unleashed dog that veered onto the road. Liu said both the Canada Post driver and the mail are safe; the mail was brought back to the depot and will be delivered today (Jan. 11).

The front of the Canada Post vehicle wound up facing north as its back two tires and rear plummeted into the ditch on the south side of Yale Road. There appears to be several feet of water in the ditch. The location of the apparent crash was across from Little Mountain just past Kim’s Grocery & Gas, a convenience store and gas station. The postal vehicle was partially submerged in a ditch in front of a “Hire Back Our Heroes” political sign.

Assistant Fire Chief Krista Minar of the Chilliwack Fire Department says Chilliwack firefighters were not dispatched for any motor vehicle incident involving a postal vehicle Wednesday.

Vancouver police say Downtown Eastside crime dropping after adoption of task force

11h ago

SD33

Chilliwack School District expects boost of over $1 million from int'l student enrolment vs. previous year

11h ago

Man charged

B.C. man charged for allegedly stabbing Police Service Dog Rebel during high-risk incident

13h ago

Further, according to an email sent to Fraser Valley Today at 3:56 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a Yale Road resident who lives right where the incident occurred said a neighbour witnessed the event where the postal vehicle wound up in the ditch, and advised that it did not involve a dog.

“I live in the house where the mail truck went into the ditch on Yale Road; our neighbour witnessed the event,” the email stated. “The driver parked his truck on the north side of the road to put mail in a mailbox. He forgot to put his truck in park and it rolled off the road.”

In a second follow-up email sent to Fraser Valley Today at 4:13 p.m. Thursday afternoon, the same Yale Road resident says upon reviewing security camera footage, the driver was not in the postal vehicle when it went in the ditch, and the vehicle was rolling backwards on its own.

“There was without any doubt no dog involved,” the email stated.

Fraser Valley Today has sent a follow-up email to Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu to clarify if indeed the postal employee actually crashed as he said he did, or whether the vehicle rolled into the ditch on its own.