Paramedic, driver dead after car drifts across highway centre line in Thorsby

An on-duty paramedic has died following a fatal collision along Hwy. 39 in Thorsby, Alta., very early Saturday morning.

RCMP received a call of the collision along Hwy. 39, west of Thorsby at 4 a.m.

A 27-year-old Edmonton man driving a Buick Skylark appeared to have crossed the centre line of the road, crashing head-on into the ambulance, RCMP told Global News.

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The 51-year-old paramedic from Spruce Grove, who was driving the ambulance, and the driver of the oncoming vehicle both died on scene.

Drugs and alcohol are believed to have been a factor, according to RCMP.

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The ambulance passenger — also EMS staff — was taken by EMS ground ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital with serious injuries. He is in stable condition, according to an AHS release sent Saturday afternoon.

There were no other passengers in either vehicle.

Thorsby, Alta., is located approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.