EDMONTON – Two Edmonton men were killed Wednesday in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 63, south of Fort McMurray.
The RCMP says it appears two transport trucks travelling in opposite directions crashed head-on which resulted in a fire. Both of those drivers died at the scene.
Their identities have not been released.
The crash happened before 9 a.m. on Wednesday near Mile Marker 173.
“When I actually pulled up, I saw there was a line of traffic,” Ryan Houlihan, who was driving by at the time, tells Global News.
“I could see the smoke ahead, with the flames. It appears that it had actually happened where the southbound traffic splits into two lanes.”
“It appears that three… trucks have been involved, maybe one being a fuel tanker, then maybe three to four just commercial passenger vehicles. There were two of them on the roof, and both lanes were engulfed in flames, along with the ditch,” recalls Houlihan.
Deputy Fire Chief of the Regional Emergency Services, Brad Grainger, says one of the main tractor trailers involved was carrying diesel. Fire fighters from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo extinguished the blaze.
The RCMP says the other vehicles were not directly involved in the crash, but went into the ditch to avoid the collision.
There were no other injuries reported.
Grainger said there were three semi trucks and three pickup trucks involved.
Houlihan tells Global News conditions on Highway 63 were OK until about one kilometre away from the collision site. At that point, Ryan Houlihan says there was blowing snow and icy road conditions.
Highway 63 was reopened on Thursday morning.
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