Icy road factor in fatal Okanagan Connector crash

WEST KELOWNA – A 62-year-old Peachland man is dead after the pickup truck he was passenger in plunged down an embankment on Highway 97C Saturday afternoon.

RCMP say the 50-year-old driver lost control on an icy section of the road near the Brenda Mine Road exit around 1:45 p.m. Investigators don’t think speed is a factor.

She was airlifted to Kelowna General Hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Police aren’t releasing the name of the man, who died at the scene, until his family is notified.

In the wake of the fatal crash, RCMP Corp. Tess Guay is reminding drivers posted speeds can be too fast for winter road condtions.

“Roadways can look dry despite the presence of frost and black ice especially on the shaded areas of roadway,” she says in a media release. “Reduce your speed appropriate to the road conditions, have winter or mud and snow tires with adequate tread depth and add secured weight to the rear area if driving a pickup truck to ensure better traction.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.