Editor’s Note: The fatal collision occurred west of Range Road 11, not at Range Road 11 as the story originally indicated. Global News apologizes for the error.
An Airdrie man is dead following a Wednesday afternoon crash on Highway 566, west of Highway 2.
According to RCMP, the collision, which involved a motorcycle and a pickup truck, occurred around 3 p.m., at a spot west of Balzac.
RCMP officials say the motorcyclist, a 50-year-old man from Airdrie, was heading west on Highway 566. Investigators say he had passed several westbound vehicles before colliding with a westbound pickup truck that was turning. Global News has since confirmed that the motorcycle and truck collided at a spot along the highway where there was only a small turnout and no intersecting road.
The identity of the deceased, the motorcyclist, has not been released.
The driver, the lone occupant of the pickup truck, was not seriously injured.
A section of the highway was closed to both eastbound and westbound traffic for several hours as officers investigated the crash. Police reopened the highway shortly after 6:30 p.m.
Excess speed is considered a factor in the fatal crash.