Three dead in head-on crash on B.C. Interior highway north of Kamloops

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Three people are dead after a head-on crash north of Kamloops in British Columbia’s Interior.

RCMP Cpl. James Grandy says the accident happened at about 6:50 a.m. on Highway 5, when a south-bound Toyota Corolla struck an oncoming Ford van.

He says the driver and two passengers in the Toyota died while the van driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Grandy says initial investigations determined the driver of the Toyota had been trying to to pass a semi-trailer truck.

Barriere Fire Chief Ashley Wohlgemuth says the crash happened just south of the community, about 64 kilometres north of Kamloops.

Wohlgemuth says a dog in the car also died.

Police say Highway 5 in Louis Creek six kilometres south of Barriere has been closed for the investigation.

Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer says the site of the fatal crash is very close to where a collision claimed two lives on the Labour Day weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.