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Okanagan Connector

Crash closes Connector between Merritt and Highway 5A

MERRITT - The Okanagan Connector was closed between Merritt and Highway 5A after a car crash this afternoon. Details are limited but multiple emergency vehicles responded to the vehicle incident, Dec. 28, including a B.C. Ambulance helicopter. Some reports on social media said the crash was a rollover. Drive B.C. says Highway 97C, east of...

Penticton man identified as victim in fatal Okanagan Connector crash

KELOWNA – The first big winter storm on the Okanagan Connector and Coquihalla highways proved deadly early this month. A car crash claimed the life of a Penticton man on Highway 97C around 1:30 p.m., Nov. 16, according to a media release from the B.C. Coroners Service. Martin Lewis Schultz, 44, was the driver and...

Two separate crashes close Coquihalla south of Merritt

MERRITT - Two separate crashes on the Coquihalla Highway have shut down the route this morning from Merritt to Hope. The first crash occurred around 9:45 a.m. at the Coldwater Interchange, exit 286, at the south end of Merritt, closing down the southbound lanes. No detours are listed by Drive B.C. and an estimated time...

White, wet and windy start to the week in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - On the heels of a snow-filled Sunday, a mix of rain and snow will kick off the new week in Kamloops, along with strong winds. Environment Canada recorded 17.6 millimetres of precipitation at the airport, much of that rain, over the weekend, though higher elevations around the city received both more snow and...

More heavy snow on southern Interior mountain highways; Kamloops gets a dump

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heavy snow originally forecast to let up overnight continues today in southern Interior mountain passes, while snow also fell Kamloops and more can be expected this morning. Environment Canada has updated the special weather statement this morning, Nov. 15, calling for more heavy snow on the Okanagan Connector from Kelowna to Merritt,...

Winter driving conditions with heavy snow in mountain passes

SNOWFALL WARNING FOR SOUTH THOMPSON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heavy snow is forecast on the highways through mountain passes in the southern Interior today, Nov. 14, and overnight will make travel a challenge, and winter tires or chains a necessity. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of up to 40 centimetres of snow...

Okanagan Connector crash victims identified by coroner

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the names of three people killed in a collision Nov. 6 on the Okanagan Connector. The victims have been identified as Sean Robert Anderson, 40, of Westbank, Kim Christine Dunstan, 26, of West Kelowna, and her brother Jarrett Francisco Dunstan, of Westbank. Anderson was driving a rented...

Heavy snow coming to a Southern Interior highway near you

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are planning to hit the highways over the next couple of days make sure you are prepared to deal with winter conditions, including gusty winds and heavy snow. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3 warning up to 20 centimetres of snow could...

Crash on Okanagan Connector kills three people

MERRITT – Three people in a U-Haul van were killed last night on the Highway 97C when it slammed into the back of a semi transporting crushed cars. The crash happened at about 8:45 p.m., Nov. 6, about six kilometres east of Merritt, according to a media release from RCMP Central Interior Traffic Services. “The...

Chilliwack man confirmed dead following October crash on Okanagan Connector

KELOWNA - A Chilliwack man was killed when he rolled his pickup on the Okanagan Connector last month. The B.C. Coroners Service says David Roy Elias, 58, was the driver and only one in the truck, which left the highway, hit a ditch and rolled on Highway 97C about 17 kilometres west of the Pennask Summit....

Snow on the Okanagan Connector

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drivers heading out on the highway should be prepared for a bit of snow at the higher elevations this morning. Drive B.C. is showing snow at several of the higher Okanagan elevations and temperatures are currently sitting around 0 Celsius. At the Coquihalla Summit it is currently raining and temperatures are sitting around...

Alberta man dies in Okanagan Connector crash

MERRITT - A man who died on Highway 97 in an nearly morning single vehicle roll-over last week has been identified. Daniel Thomas Semeniuk, 25, died when the vehicle he was driving left the road and rolled, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. The Red Deer man was the only occupant in the vehicle, which...

UPDATE: Woman missing near Peachland for more than a week found

UPDATE: 6:44 A.M., JUNE 19, 2015 RCMP say Kara Stoyanowski has been found alive. More details are expected later today. 2:32 p.m., June 15, 2015 WEST KELOWNA – Still no sign of a Winnipeg woman missing in the wilderness west of Peachland for almost a week. RCMP are hoping there is someone who knows something...

Crash on Okanagan Connector sends two to hospital

WEST KELOWNA – Two people were taken to hospital after their car crash on the Okanagan Connector near West Kelowna this morning. The Hyundai Genesis crashed at about 11:10 a.m., April 25, on Highway 97C just west of Trepanier Road, according to Capt. Lionel Bateman with West Kelowna Fire Rescue. He says two patients were...

Forestry crew mopping up wildfire near Okanagan Connector

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A human-caused wildfire sparked south of the Okanagan Connector Saturday afternoon is being mopped up by a Wildfire Management crew today. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says an initial attack crew of 13 firefighters responded to the blaze which grew to 11-hectares in size near Starshine Way Road, north of Missezula Lake yesterday...

Major snowfall for mountain pass highways in Thompson-Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Winter appears to be reluctant to release it’s icy grip on the mountain pass highways in the Thompson-Okanagan. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of 10 to 20 centimetres of snow by Monday morning. Meteorologist Ross Macdonald says a strong front over Washington State combined with falling freezing levels will...

One person injured in Okanagan Connector rollover

MERRITT – A rollover early Saturday morning on the Okanagan Connector sent one person to hospital. The crash happened at around 5 a.m. at the junction of 97C and the Coquihalla about 25 kilometres east of Merritt, according to VSA Highway Maintenance. The B.C. Ambulance Service says one patient was taken by ambulance to hospital....

Winter storm developing this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A winter storm set to hit the Southern Interior by Sunday could bring snowfall in excess of 25 centimetres at highway passes and could see snow turn to freezing rain in town. Friday morning Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for much of the Central and Southern Interior, including the Coquihalla Highway,...

Driving mountain passes a challenge; heavy snow falling

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The meteorologists at Environment Canada are predicting a dump of snow on the mountain passes Saturday making the drive to and from the Thompson-Okanagan a challenge this weekend. A disturbance moving south from the northwest is responsible for the heavy snow, according to a special weather statement issued Saturday morning. The Okanagan Connector,...