NEAR MERRITT — The driver and lone occupant of a small car is dead after driving into the back of a broken down commercial truck on Monday morning, according to police.
RCMP were called shortly before 10:30 a.m. to the scene of the accident about four kilometres south of Merritt.
Sgt. Mike Pears with Central Interior Traffic Services (CITS) in Kamloops said in a news release that the driver of the small car was travelling southbound up the hill out of Merritt on the Coquihalla highway when it ran into the rear of the semi-truck that was pulling a flat deck trailer.
“The commercial vehicle was pulled off the travel portion of roadway on the right shoulder with emergency triangles placed to the rear,” said Pears.
“The driver of the small car was deceased at the scene of the collision.”
Pears said the reason for the crash hasn’t been determined adding that weather and road conditions were good at the time of the collision.
The occupant of the commercial vehicle wasn’t injured.
The highway is open in both directions; however, there is a lane closure for southbound traffic.
CITS and the B.C. Coroners Service continue to investigate the cause of the crash.