One person has died in a motor vehicle accident at the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 97C near Ashcroft, and one other person suffered severe injuries.
At approximately 10:38 a.m. on Friday, April 28, Ashcroft RCMP and the BC Ambulance Service received a report of a serious two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 97C south of Cache Creek.
Members of the Ashcroft RCMP, Central Interior Traffic Services (CITS), BC Ambulance, and Ashcroft Fire Rescue attended the scene.
Investigators have confirmed that a southbound vehicle on Highway 1 with one elderly male occupant was turning left onto Highway 97C when it collided with a red pick-up truck with Washington State licence plates that was travelling northbound on Highway 1. The pick-up contained two occupants.
A passer-by who was an off-duty paramedic happened to be at the site, and was able to administer first aid to the victims. Ashcroft Fire Rescue arrived on site and used the Jaws of Life to extract a female from the pick-up. She was taken to hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries.
The male driver of the other vehicle, who is from the local area, succumbed to his injuries prior to arrival at hospital.
Highway 1 near the accident scene was closed for several hours, with north- and southbound traffic initially diverted around the site along Campbell Hill Drive W. and Airport Road. The highway then reopened to single-lane, alternating traffic before being completely reopened at 3 p.m.
A collision re-constructionist from Kamloops attended the scene to assist in the investigation, which is now being conducted by the Central Interior Traffic Services. They will now be working with the BC Coroners Service to determine the cause of the crash.
CITS investigators would like to speak with any person who witnessed this crash but who has not yet spoken to the police. Please contact the CITS unit in Ashcroft at (250) 453-2216.