One man was killed and two others sent to hospital after a chain-reaction collision involving a semi on an icy highway in western Alberta.
Hinton RCMP said emergency crews initially responded to a two-vehicle collision on Highway 40 near Rock Lake — about 42 kilometres north of Highway 16 — shortly after 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
At the time of the crash, RCMP said there was fog in the area, freezing rain was falling and the highway was covered in ice.
Police said a semi-truck and trailer was driving north when the trailer fishtailed across the highway. The tractor-trailer then collided with a southbound pickup truck.
The pickup ended up in the ditch and the semi remained on the highway. RCMP said a third vehicle hit the debris from the initial crash, and other vehicles slid into the ditch.
The 44-year-old man driving the pickup truck died on the scene. A 46-year-old man who was a passenger in that truck was first taken to hospital in Hinton, before being transferred to Edmonton because of his injuries. The 37-year-old man driving the semi was taken to the hospital in Hinton. No other injuries were reported.
The highway was closed in both directions overnight while RCMP from Hinton and Grande Cache, along with a collision analyst, worked to investigate the fatal crash.
At around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday the scene was cleared and one lane of traffic was re-opened and north and southbound traffic was alternating slowly through the area.
RCMP said that traffic restriction was expected to remain in place all day as Alberta Environment and Parks and an emergency response team assess a spill caused by the semi truck’s diesel fuel tank.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Police said while the road conditions improved Wednesday, they are not optimal and the RCMP continue to warn drivers to avoid the area.
— With files from Phil Heidenreich, Global News
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