Motorcyclist dead, thousands stuck as crash causes eight-hour shutdown of Sea to Sky Highway overnight

A collision involving a motorcycle and an RV shut down the Sea to Sky Highway near Deeks Creek Bridge on July 5, 2026. Photo by Brittany Michalchuk /Handout

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A motorcyclist is dead after a serious crash on the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Squamish that left motorists stranded for hours.

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B.C. RCMP said the woman was one of two motorcyclists who were spotted by a highway patrol officer reportedly speeding and driving erratically at around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

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The officer was conducting speed enforcement checks on the highway.

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“The officer left their position along the highway and moments later located one of the motorcyclists who was involved in a collision with a recreational vehicle,” said Mounties in a news release on Monday.

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The woman died at the scene.

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The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has been notified.

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The civilian-led police watchdog agency said it was told by RCMP an officer tried to stop two motorcycles heading south on the highway, but the motorbikes did not stop.

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One of the motorcycles collided with another vehicle near Deeks Creek Bridge, north of Lions Bay, it said.

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The crash closed down the Sea to Sky Highway in both directions for more than eight hours. The highway reopened at around 2 a.m. although it took hours for the backlog to clear.

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Brittany Michalchuk was on her way home from Whistler to Vancouver when she got stuck on the highway, joining a long line of vehicles at a standstill in the southbound lanes.

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“Traffic was just not budging,” she said. “There’s RVs and buses. There must have been thousands of us stuck in traffic.”

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Michalchuk put on her rollerblades and travelled about 11 kilometres to get closer to the crash scene to find out what was happening. She described what she saw as “apocalyptic.”

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“There were people with sleeping bags and pillows sleeping on the side of the road. There were dinner tables set up, picnics. People ran out of gas and batteries died. I saw somebody jumping a car. People were running out of food and water,” she said.

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A tent pitched on the side of the Sea to Sky Highway after a crash shut down the highway in both directions near Lions Bay on July 5, 2026. Photo by Brittany Michalchuk /Handout

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Police had blocked off the highway near the crash scene, but Michalchuk could see an RV sitting motionless in the distance, facing north.

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The police officer at the scene said the wait could be several hours and said people can either wait in their vehicles or head back to Squamish or Whistler.

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“We were all getting frustrated, hungry and tired,” said Michalchuk.