Airdrie RCMP were asking drivers in southern Alberta to avoid areas near three crash scenes Wednesday afternoon.
Police said one person was dead and two people were taken to hospital after a crash on Highway 566 at Range Road 13 near Balzac that happened around 3:30 p.m.
EMS said a woman in her 20s or 30s was pulled from a car but died on scene. A second woman, about the same age and who was in the same vehicle, was taken to Foothills Medical Centre in potentially life-threatening condition.
A man who was in an SUV the car collided with, was flown to Foothills Hospital by STARS Air Ambulance in potentially life-threatening condition. EMS said both he and the second woman were both suffering from various internal and external injuries.
Highway 566 was closed in the area as of 4 p.m. for emergency response and an investigation. Traffic was expected to be rerouted in the area until about 8 p.m.
Crash in Airdrie area
The second crash happened in Airdrie in the area of eastbound Yankee Valley Boulevard and Highway 2 around 3:30 p.m.
RCMP said witnesses told officers they saw a westbound Ford Focus sideswipe a pickup truck on Yankee Valley Boulevard and go into the north ditch before swerving across all three lanes of westbound traffic. They said the car the went over over the centre median and hit an eastbound Honda Civic head-on on Yankee Valley Boulevard.
Police said a man and woman from the Civic were taken to hospital in Calgary to be treated for minor injuries and that the woman driving the Focus was taken to a Calgary-area hospital to be examined.
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EMS said in total, the crashes sent three people to Peter Lougheed Hospital: a woman in her 20s, a woman in her 40s and a man in his 40s. According to EMS, all three patients were listed in stable non-life threatening condition.
Mounties said while an investigation is ongoing, they believe the driver of the Focus was in medical distress at the time of the crash.
Traffic was rerouted from the area off Yankee Valley Boulevard for about two hours.
Crash near CrossIron Mills shopping centre
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., emergency crews were called to a third crash. The collision occurred on Highway 2 in the vicinity of Crossiron Drive, and involved a car and motorcycle.
RCMP said they believe a motorcycle had rear-ended a car that had come to a stop because of traffic congestion. The motorcyclist, a 57-year-old Drumheller man, was taken to a Calgary area hospital with serious injuries.
EMS said the man is recovering at the Foothills Medical Centre.
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