Photo: CTV

Tow truck driver Jamie Davis of Highway Thru Hell fame says a bus crash on the Coquihalla, Saturday, was an accident waiting to happen.

He's calling for stronger highway regulations.

Davis, owner of Motor Truck & Auto Ltd., said the first thing that crossed his mind was: Why wasn’t there a flagger with the tow truck?

“There should have been some warning to this bus driver,” Davis told CTV.

“If a tow company’s attending, flagging is more important than towing the car. Safety is more important.”

Davis said tow truck drivers in other jurisdictions are barred from blocking parts of the highway without a flagger present, something he’d like to see B.C. adopt.

Davis said he alerted B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone about the issue earlier this year.

“It seems to fall on deaf ears,” he said. “We’re going to see (another accident) if someone doesn’t step in and regulate them.”

Thirty-eight people were hurt in the crash after a Universal Coach Lines tour bus slammed into a tow truck and car that were parked on the shoulder of the highway near Merritt.

The RCMP expects to recommend charges against the bus driver.

– withe files from CTV Vancouver