Lower Mainland man killed in crash on Coqihalla Highway

A crash on the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope this morning claimed the life of a Lower Mainland man.

RCMP say the man in his 20s was killed when his vehicle hit a semi-truck that had stopped with other vehicles due to the poor driving conditions on the Coquihalla Highway this morning, Dec. 4.

“We were getting calls this morning just after 6:30 a.m. about vehicles being spun out on Larson Hill northbound on the Coquihalla this morning… a lot of the commercial vehicles stopped on the highway because they didn’t want to try to navigate the hill and then try to go down on the other side because it was just too treacherous," B.C. RCMP traffic services media relations officer Cpl. Mike Halskov says.

"There were a lot of vehicles stopped on the highway blocking all lanes, and a fellow with his two friends were driving along and couldn’t stop in time and collided with a stopped semi-truck," Halskov says.

The driver was killed and the two friends were taken to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non-life threatening injuries. No one else was hurt in the crash and the highway has since reopened.

Halskov says the incident is being investigated by RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service and impairment nor speed were contributing factors.

He reminds people to drive for the conditions on the road.

“The road condition was certainly treacherous this morning and it caught some people unaware,” Halskov says. “Make sure you have proper winter tread and that your vehicle is equipped and maintained for winter driving, which can change rapidly."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Wheeler or call (250) 819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.