EDMONTON – Highway 16 at Range Road 212 was reopened to traffic at 9:50 Tuesday morning, following a serious collision involving a van and a semi hauling two trailers.
At around 4:30 a.m., Strathcona County RCMP and Strathcona County Emergency Services responded to the crash on the east side of Strathcona County.
The RCMP says a 2013 Dodge Caravan, being driven by a 53-year-old man from Ardrossan, was heading south on Range Road 212 and entered the intersection of the east bound lanes of Highway 16 where it collided with a 2014 Kenworth semi tractor trailer unit, being driven by a 39-year-old man from Vermillion.
Due to extremely heavy fog in the area at the time, the driver of the Dodge couldn’t see the stop sign at the intersection and drove into traffic.
The Kenworth semi was hauling two trailers, one carrying insulation and the other carrying cases of beer. The driver was unable to avoid the collision, jackknifed and then flipped on its side, blocking the eastbound lanes of the highway.
Both drivers sustained minor injured, and were taken to hospital in Edmonton, but the RCMP says it could have been much worse.
“Engineering in vehicles has gone so far now that you’re able to actually have a tractor trailer – fully loaded – hit you … T-bone at 90 degrees and still walk away from these crashes,” said St.-Sgt. Chris Narbonne with the Strathcona County RCMP.
“It’s the miracle of technology in the automotive industry.”
Officers believe heavy fog and poor visibility were contributing factors in the collision and made road conditions dangerous for both motorists and responding emergency crews.
The trailer hauling beer was damaged and several beer cans were spilled on the side of the road. The mess took a long time to clear since the beer had to be removed from the road before the truck could be flipped upright.
Both vehicles were damaged and the road was closed for several hours as the RCMP investigated.
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