A 41-year-old man was killed in a collision in western Alberta late Tuesday night, after his truck collided with the back of a semi and caught fire in Edson.
RCMP said the collision happened on Highway 16 eastbound around 11:00 p.m., just within the Town of Edson limits where the speed limit goes from 110 km/h to 80 km/h.
Emergency services arrived on scene to find a Ford truck engulfed in flames. The pickup is believed to have rear-ended the tractor trailer, which had a flatbed carrying a long load of pipe.
The man in the pickup truck was found dead after the Edson Fire Department put out the fire. The man driving the semi was not injured in the collision.
RCMP described the pickup as a 2014 black Ford F-150 Raptor edition with several aftermarket customizations, similar to the one pictured below.
Traffic on the highway was stopped for a while, and detours were set up around the scene. Police said the highway was fully cleared at 4:45 a.m.
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Mounties believe speed was a factor in the crash, but continue to investigate with the help of the RCMP Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police do not believe weather or road conditions played a role.
The victim was from Alberta, but RCMP said his name will not be released at the request of the family.
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or either vehicle prior to the collision is asked to contact Edson RCMP at 780-723-8822.
Edson is 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.