RCMP say a 39-year-old Castlegar woman has died after three-vehicle collision on the Paulson Pass on Thursday afternoon.
A westbound commercial tractor trailer lost control on Highway 3, slid sideways across three lanes and struck an eastbound commercial vehicle as well as a smaller Honda SUV at approximately 4:27 p.m., according to a statement from West Kootenay Traffic Services. The tractor trailer then slid over an embankment.
Police say the driver of the tractor trailer, a 46-year-old male from West Kelowna, received non-life threatening injuries, while the driver of the other commercial vehicle was uninjured.
The Castlegar woman who was driving the Honda was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Initial indications are that speed relative to poor road conditions were a primary contributing factor. The RCMP will continue to determine if there were any other factors that contributed to the crash,” the police stated.
Due to the privacy of the deceased, the BC Coroners Service does not confirm or release identity, per the Coroners Act and provincial privacy legislation.
Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call West Kootenay Traffic Services at 250-354-5146.
Early Friday, Environment Canada issued an advisory that a snowfall and winter storm warning for Interior highway passes continues.
“A strong Pacific frontal system continues to hammer the interior highway passes with heavy snow,” the release reads.
“Snow, at times heavy, will continue today, tonight, and into Saturday.”
Additional snowfall amounts of 20 to 60 centimetres are expected by Saturday afternoon.
Weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions.
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