Speed and alcohol are not considered factors after a Saskatoon man died from injuries he received in a head-on crash between a car and a semi on Circle Drive.
According to investigators, the man was driving southbound when he crossed the ditch into the northbound lane near the Attridge Drive overpass and collided with the semi just before 5:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
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It took firefighters 13 minutes to extract the 34-year-old man from the car.
He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries where he later passed away.
His name has not been released by police.
The driver of the semi was not hurt.
Investigators said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Police are asking for help from anyone equipped with a dashboard camera at the time of the crash.
“If anybody was in the area and they did happen to capture footage, if they could contact police, we would be very grateful for that,” said police spokesperson Kelsie Fraser.
Traffic in the area was restricted for almost eight hours while the Saskatoon police collision analyst unit carried out its investigation.
The stretch of Circle Drive between Attridge and 108th Street was the scene of a different fatal crash in September, 2016.
READ MORE: Man killed in crash on Saskatoon’s Circle Drive
The safety systems around Circle and other high-speed corridors in Saskatoon were assessed in an independent review in 2016, according to the city’s director of transportation, Angela Gardiner.
“As per the national standards from Transportation Association of Canada, there is no requirement that barriers are included in this location,” Gardiner said.
When determining the need for barriers, the city considers factors like roadway shape, vehicle speeds, traffic volumes and collision history.
“As with any serious collision we do take a look to see if there is anything we can do to improve,” Gardiner said.
Installing a barrier in the area could cost about $500,000, she added.