A 51-year-old resident of Vanderhoof is dead after a two- vehicle collision on Highway 97C near Barnes Lake Road near Ashcroft on Canada Day.
On the afternoon of July 1, a serious collision occurred between a commercial transport vehicle and a pickup truck towing a holiday trailer on Highway 97C, police said in a news release.
At approximately 3:55 p.m. Ashcroft RCMP members, along with the Central Interior Traffic Services, arrived on scene.
After completing a preliminary investigation, it was found that the “unloaded rear trailers of a westbound (downhill) commercial tractor-trailer from Idaho slid sideways across the lanes striking an eastbound pickup truck hauling a holiday trailer,” police said.
The man driving the truck was found dead at the scene. His wife, who was in the passenger seat was transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non-life threatening injuries and has since been released.
Police said the driver of the commercial vehicle was not injured in the accident.
The BC Coroners Service has confirmed that it is conducting an investigation into the accident, with the RCMP conducting a separate investigation.
As a result of the accident, traffic flow was disrupted for seven hours while Mounties finished examining the scene and clearing the highway.
It was raining heavily at the time of the incident, and police have said that an early indication and primary contributing factor in what led to the fatal accident is that the driver of the commercial vehicle was driving too fast for road conditions. The RCMP will continue to determine if any other factors contributed to the crash.
Anyone with information in relation to the accident is asked to call Central Interior Traffic Services at (250) 378-4262.
Aman Parhar
Editor, Vanderhoof Omineca Express
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
