B.C. and Alberta trucking firms ask court to lift bans imposed after overpass crash

VANCOUVER — Two trucking firms say the B.C. government wrongly concluded they were “one operation” after an overpass crash last December, and want a court to let them both back on the province’s road. 

B.C.-based Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd. and Alberta-based Chohan Group Ltd. say in B.C. Supreme Court petitions that they’re separate legal entities but have a family connection. 

Chohan Freight says it wants its safety certificate restored after a truck driven by an “owner-operator” hit an overpass on Highway 99 in Delta in December, lodging construction girders into the structure. 

The company says the suspension that took its fleet off B.C. roads is unreasonable, costing upwards of $1 million a week, and the independent contractor involved in the crash has admitted fault and been terminated. 

Chohan Group meanwhile says the B.C. government wrongfully denied it oversized-load permits after the December crash, and the firm has never been involved in a highway infrastructure crash “in Alberta, British Columbia or otherwise.”

B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation said it was considering a request for an interview about the court petitions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2024. 

The Canadian Press