Impaired driving suspected in fatal head-on crash near Merritt 

A 24-year-old Surrey was killed in a head-on crash on the Coquihalla Highway near Merritt on Saturday.

The crash between a black Toyota Tacoma and white Toyota Rav 4, just south of the Helmer exit on Highway 5, happened around 8:30 a.m., Oct. 17, according to a BC Highway Patrol media release issued today, Oct. 19.

Officers were responding to multiple calls about a vehicle driving southbound in the northbound when the collision happened and they arrived to find both vehicles heavily damaged.

A passenger in the Toyota Rav 4, a 24-year-old Surrey man, died at the scene. The driver and two other Surrey men in the vehicle, between the ages of 24 and 38, were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

The driver Toyota Tacoma, a 22-year-old Coldwater man, was the only one in the vehicle and received minor injures. He was detained for suspected impaired driving.

“We need more video and witnesses who can tell us what the driver of the black Toyota Tacoma was doing before he started driving,” BC Highway Patrol spokesperson Michael McLaughlin said in the release.

“Some witnesses say the black Toyota Tacoma entered Highway 5 near Lac Le Jeune. If you saw what the driver was doing before he started driving, we need to talk to you.”

If you saw the events leading up to the collision, or you have dash-camera video, or you witnessed the actions of the driver of the black Toyota Tacoma before the collision, please call BC Highway Patrol – Kamloops at 250-828-3111 and quote file (2100) 2026-2997.