Driver seriously injured in South Okanagan head-on crash now in stable condition

PENTICTON – The Oliver woman rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries following a head-on crash south of Okangan Falls on Sunday is in stable condition at hospital.

The investigation into the crash between the woman's Toyota Corolla and an unloaded logging truck yesterday afternoon, Jan. 24, on Highway 97 next to Vaseux Lake Provincial Park continues.

Sgt. Harold Hallet with the RCMP's South Okanagan Traffic Services says the southbound Corolla, driven by a 46-year-old Oliver woman, crossed the centre line and hit the northbound logging truck head-on.

Hallet says she is currently in stable condition at Kelowna General Hospital.

The Penticton man behind the wheel of the logging truck, which burst into flames following the collision, received minor injuries. He was treated at Penticton Regional Hospital and released.

Members of the Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the burning truck and got the woman out of the crushed Corolla.

The crash closed Highway 97 for several hours until single lane traffic could be rerouted through Vaseux Lake Provincial Park.

It is not believed weather or road conditions were factors in the incident, Hallet says.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.