- Call 911 first if anyone is hurt or the scene is unsafe.
- In BC, police must report crashes with injury or death; the property-damage threshold is $10,000.
- Owners can report an ICBC claim online; other drivers, passengers and witnesses call.
- We load with loose parts secured, then go to the shop you choose.
- Open 8am to 9pm, every day. The price is confirmed first.
What accident towing in East Cambie involves
The tow is the last step at a crash scene, not the first. People come first: if anyone is hurt, or a car is on fire or blocking a fast lane, call 911 before anything else. Once everyone is safe and the police, if they came, say the vehicles can move, we clear the scene. That means loading the car, picking up the glass and trim, and leaving the lane open.
Most crash-damaged cars go on a flatbed, because a bent wheel, a broken suspension arm or a car that won't steer can't be pulled on two wheels. For a collision between two cars at an intersection, car accident towing covers the passenger-car side in more detail, and ICBC towing covers moving a car that already has an open claim.
If the car left the road, the job starts with recovery. A vehicle in a ditch or on a soft shoulder needs a winch out before it can be towed, and a truck on its side needs heavy duty recovery.
When to call police before accident towing in BC
Not every crash needs an officer on scene. In 2019 the Province raised the police reporting threshold for property-damage-only crashes from $1,000 to $10,000. Police still file a mandatory written report with ICBC for every crash they attend that causes death or injury, and officers can still attend a minor crash at their discretion, for example when impairment or fault is in question.
In practice, call 911 for injuries, fire, a car blocking traffic or a driver who seems impaired. For a police matter that isn't an emergency, the Richmond RCMP non-emergency line is 604-278-1212, and the main detachment is at 11411 No. 5 Road. A fender bender in a lot on Jacombs Road with no injuries usually goes straight to the exchange of information and the claim. Whatever happens, stay calm, don't argue about fault at the roadside, and write things down while they are fresh.
- Swap names, driver's licence numbers, plates and insurance details.
- Take photos of both cars, the damage and the road before anything moves.
- Note the cross street, such as Cambie Road at No. 5 Road.
- Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses.
Reporting your claim to ICBC after accident towing
You can usually start the claim while you wait for us. ICBC lets you report a claim online at any time of day if you are the registered owner, the principal driver or the lessee. If you were driving someone else's car, or you were a passenger, cyclist, pedestrian, witness or the owner of damaged property, ICBC asks you to call instead. Its claims line is 604-520-8222 in the Lower Mainland, open 8am to 8pm every day.
Tell us your claim number when you have it, and tell the shop too. It keeps the paperwork connected from the scene to the repair. If you're not sure yet where the car should go, we can take it home or to a safe spot and move it later with ICBC towing.
Before the car leaves the scene, take out what you will need in the next few days: house keys, a garage remote, a child seat, work tools, and the insurance papers from the glove box. A damaged car can sit at a shop for a while before the estimate, and getting back into it is not always quick. If the car can't be locked because of the damage, tell us and we will take it somewhere secure.
Accident towing on East Cambie roads
Crashes in East Cambie tend to happen in a few kinds of places, and each one is cleared differently. Here is how we usually approach them.
| Where | Typical crash | How we clear it |
|---|---|---|
| Highway 91 and its ramps | Rear-end at speed, debris across a lane | Flatbed, fast load, lane swept before we leave |
| No. 5 Road and Cambie Road | Intersection collision, turning crash | Load from the curb side, parts picked up |
| Jacombs Road near Cambie Secondary | Low-speed bump at pickup time | Quick load, timed around school traffic |
| Crestwood: Vanguard Road and Voyageur Way | Car and truck contact near a loading bay | Car on a flatbed, truck to heavy duty towing if needed |
Residential streets in Jacombs and King George Park see the parked-car crashes: a car clipped at the curb overnight, a mirror torn off in a lane. Those cars often still drive, so a short tow to a shop is sometimes all that is needed. If the damage is only a flat tire after hitting a curb, a flat tire change may get you home instead.
Where your car goes after accident towing
You choose the destination, not the first truck that happens to arrive. Most drivers pick a repair shop they trust, a dealer at the Richmond Auto Mall, or their own driveway while they wait for the adjuster. We pick up in East Cambie only, but we can drop off anywhere in Richmond, Metro Vancouver or BC, and a longer run is quoted as long distance towing.
If the car is written off, it doesn't have to sit in a yard. Accident-damaged car removal takes it away for recycling once the claim allows. For calls from the business units along Bridgeport Road and the industrial estate, see accident towing in Crestwood.
When you're ready, call us or send the form with the location and where the car should go. Everything we do in the neighbourhood is on our East Cambie towing homepage.