Two people are dead following a crash in B.C.’s southern interior on Saturday morning.
A collision near Yahk, B.C., located about 65 kilometres south of Cranbrook, closed Highway 3/95 in both directions.
RCMP Cpl. Ryan Bacica said the crash occurred when a tractor-trailer “lost control on the ice, jackknifed and collided head-on with a pickup truck towing a horse trailer.”
Police say the tractor trailer driver, a 59-year-old Edmonton man, was ejected from the truck and died at the scene.
They say the pickup driver, a 51-year-old Cranbrook, B.C., man was trapped in his vehicle and also died at the scene, as did both horses in the trailer.
A female passenger in the pickup was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, then later transported by air ambulance to a larger area hospital.
Paramedics were called to the scene just after 9 a.m. and have now cleared the scene.
Investigators say they believe icy roads, driving too fast for the road conditions, and the fact the tractor trailer driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt all contributed to the fatalities.
With files from The Canadian Press