Update, Tuesday, Mar. 19, 9:50 a.m.
Three people escaped with only minor injuries following a head-on collision near the Rogers Pass summit on Monday afternoon.
Revelstoke RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Jacquie Olsen said the RCMP got the call for assistance at 12:55 p.m.
She said a westbound vehicle with B.C. plates struck an eastbound vehicle from Alberta.
Three people were involved and all were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Investigators on scene were unable to determine the cause of the collision.
The highway was closed between Revelstoke and Golden from about 1 p.m. to just before 7:30 p.m.
So, if there were only minor injuries in the crash, why did it take so long to clear the scene? Although DriveBC reported the entire closure was due to the vehicle incident, Staff Sgt. Olsen said the incident occurred at the same time as planned avalanche control in Glacier National Park was commencing. Olsen said investigators were in no rush to clear the scene because the avalanche control was happening simultaneously – the highway would have been closed anyway.
Original story from early Monday evening
A motor vehicle incident in Glacier National Park has closed the Trans-Canada between Revelstoke and Golden.
The incident occurred around 1 p.m. on Monday.
Early reports indicated multiple serious injuries.
DriveBC‘s initial re-opening estimate was 6:30 p.m., but that has been pushed back to 8 p.m. PST. DriveBC is expressing moderate confidence in that estimate.
Cst. Seanan Sharp of the Revelstoke RCMP said that he was unable to provide further information on the incident today. “At this point it is an active investigation,” he said. Sharp said the incident was first reported by Parks Canada. He was unaware of the actual location of the incident within Glacier National Park.
Cst. Sharp said an RCMP spokesperson would be available to comment on Tuesday morning.
Early radio communications from the scene indicated that at least three people were injured in the incident, although that detail has yet to be confirmed.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously switched ‘Wednesday’ for ‘Monday’ in one sentence.
