Wintry weather has wreaked havoc on roads around Salmon Arm, B.C. over the past two weeks. Mounties say that between Jan. 24 to Feb. 2, they responded to 18 crashes, 11 of which occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway.
“All collisions were on slippery roads and during inclement weather,” Staff Sgt. Scott West said.
“The message to motorists is to slow down and take care during these weather events. The speed limit is for perfect conditions and our conditions are nowhere near perfect. We at the RCMP are relieved that the injuries sustained in these collisions were not serious and it appears that all persons involved will recover.”
Of note, RCMP said on Jan. 24, at 5:15 p.m., a transport truck overturned in the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada near Brodrick Creek Frontage Road.
“A pickup truck then slid into the wrecked trailer of the truck,” RCMP said in a press release.
“The highway was closed as wreckage was removed for four to five hours. The drivers and passengers involved in the incident were not seriously injured and were released from hospital after being checked out.”
At 6:15 p.m. that same day, the driver of a rental vehicle left the Trans-Canada Highway near Summit Forest Service Road.
RCMP said the vehicle went down a 50-foot embankment and the driver in this case was transported to hospital as a precaution but was released later that same evening.
The Trans-Canada Highway was the site of another snow-related crash on Jan. 31, at 3:05 p.m. when a semi-truck left the highway in slippery road conditions and struck the garage of a house on Walsh Road in Blind Bay.
“The driver of the truck was taken to hospital and suffered minor cuts,” RCMP said. “The homeowner was asleep and was uninjured.”
Another remarkable story of survival came on Feb. 1, when two private motor vehicles crashed head-on on the Trans-Canada Highway, RCMP said.
“All occupants of the vehicles were assessed at the scene and did not go to the hospital. Traffic was affected as the two wrecked vehicles were removed from the roadway.”