Man killed in early morning collision on Highway 16 near Hinton

A man died in an early morning collision in western Alberta that left one of the province’s busiest highways backed up for several hours this Canada Day long weekend.

The Saturday morning collision happened about a kilometre west of Hinton, at the intersection of Highway 16 (Yellowhead) and Highway 40 south, also known as the Foresty Trunk Road.

Hinton RCMP said they responded with emergency services just before 2 a.m., after a pickup truck travelling north on Highway 40 south and a semi-tractor trailer eastbound on Highway 16 collided.

While the two vehicles collided on the eastbound side of the divided highway, RCMP said the westbound side was affected by the high-speed crash.

Police said the driver and lone occupant of the pickup truck died on scene. The driver of the semi was taken to hospital in Hinton with non-life threatening injuries.

An RCMP collision analyst was called in from Edmonton to investigate the crash.

The westbound lanes of Highway 16 were closed for several hours but reopened just before 11 a.m.

The cause is not known at this time.

Hinton is 270 kilometres west of Edmonton in Alberta’s foothills region.