A vehicle that rolled over on Highway 97C on Tuesday evening seriously injured four people, including two children.
The incident happened just before 5 p.m. near the Pennask Summit on the Okanagan Connector. The driver, a West Kelowna woman in her 50s, sustained serious injuries in the collision and had to be airlifted from the scene.
According to Southeast District RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, police arrived to discover a severely damaged grey Kia Rio and four vehicle occupants suffering from varying degrees of injury.
The driver was described to be in grave condition while the three other passengers, an adult man and two young children, each suffered what are believed to be serious non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to hospital by ambulance.
“Although the investigation into the causal factors is in its early stages, police believe that the driver had been under the influence of an intoxicating substance while behind the wheel. As such, a criminal impaired driving investigation is now underway,” stated Cpl. O’Donaghey. “Investigators have not yet ruled out speed, and both road or weather conditions as additional contributing factors in this devastating crash.”
A collision analyst was dispatched to the crash site on the connector to examine the scene as the investigation remains ongoing.
If you witnessed the crash or have dash-cam footage of the incident and have not yet spoken to police, call BC Highway Patrol Kelowna at 250-491-5354.
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