The driver of a semi has been charged after a six-vehicle collision closed a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway 10 kilometres west of Sicamous, B.C. on Wednesday.
The collision involved two semi-tractor trailer units, three pickup trucks and an SUV, RCMP say.
Police believe a westbound semi hauling a trailer loaded with grocery products crossed a double-solid line after the driver failed to safely negotiate a turn in the highway.
The semi-tractor trailer unit then flipped onto its side and skidded down the highway for another 50 metres before it finally came to rest after striking an eastbound semi.
The semi-truck and trailer also hit three eastbound pickup trucks, which suffered extensive damage, and one eastbound SUV.
The Trans-Canada Highway was closed following the collision but has since been cleared.
The driver of the westbound semi, a 32-year-old Calgary man, was taken to hospital by BC Emergency Health Services with what police describe as non-life-threatening injuries. Three other people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police charged the driver with crossing a double-solid line under the BC Motor Vehicle Act and say speed may have been a factor in the collision.
“This narrow two-lane section of the highway has a rock wall on the eastbound ditch and a steep drop behind the concrete barrier on the western ditch,” Sicamous RCMP Sgt. Murray McNeil said in a statement.
“It is extremely fortunate that this collision did not result in multiple fatalities considering the length the truck travelled before finally coming to a stop and the extent of the damage sustained to all the impacted vehicles.”
Comments