UPDATE: Highway 1 near Golden reopens after fatal crash

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – One person is dead and another in critical condition after a serious crash involving two tractor trailers that shut down Highway 1 from Golden to Revelstoke overnight.

United Towing was called out to a head-on collision between two semis west of Golden just before 11 p.m. Both units were on fire at the time. Const. A.J. Brunner says one driver was deceased at the scene and the other was airlifted to Foothills Hospital in critical condition.

Around 7 a.m. Drive B.C. reported the highway was reopened to passenger vehicles by a detour, but still closed to commercial traffic because of a ‘serious vehicle incident.’ It notes the RCMP collision investigation is complete and site cleanup is underway. The highway has since reopened to a single lane of alternating traffic and is expected to fully reopen between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Traffic congestion and delays are expected.

Highway conditions are currently listed as slippery in that area and other sections of Highway 1 are noted as having compact snow with slippery sections.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 11:26 a.m., Dec. 30, 2014, with additional details from RCMP.

— This story was updated at 12:43 p.m., Dec. 30, 2014 with information about the highway reopening.