Driver in critical condition after plummeting off ramp at Tsawwassen ferry terminal

A man is in critical condition after a crash at BC Ferries' Tsawwassen Terminal on Tuesday.

BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said it happened at about 12:30 p.m., as the Coastal Renaissance sailing from Duke Point was finishing its disembarking routine.

"The last vehicle to be unloaded off the upper car deck drove off the ship, accelerated rapidly and smashed through a concrete wall. The vehicle then fell approximately 30 feet (nine metres) to the lower holding compound of the terminal, landing on its roof," said Marshall.

B.C. Emergency Health Services confirmed that one patient was taken to hospital in critical condition. Marshall, along with Delta police confirmed that no other people were in the pickup truckor in its path, as it plummetedto the ground below the loading ramp.

TheCoastal Renaissance is about an hour behind schedule, but no other BCFerries sailings were affected, said Marshall.