The fatal crash scene near Bednesti Lake was almost inaccessible in the moments after the violent collision.
A spray of timber choked Highway 16 off as emergency crews raced to the aid of the dead and injured. According to witnesses, the two who did not survive the four-vehicle incident were almost certainly killed on first impact and not from the chaos of logs or the fire that ensued.
"The wood - logs - was all over the highway," said North District RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson, one of the emergency responders on-scene. "It was piled more than six feet high in some spots and blocked the entire highway, stem to stern. We had to walk in the ditch as responders to get to the other side, we couldn't crawl over, nobody even tried."
There were four people involved in the crash, each driving a different vehicle. They met at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Guest Road, about 50 kilometres west of Prince George, equidistant east of Vanderhoof.
"The first car, west bound, crossed the centre line for reasons we don't know yet, collided with the logging truck breaking its steering axle so the driver had no more control, which is why it collided with the next car which was coming along behind the first," said Saunderson. "The flat deck was following the two cars and the driver tried to avoid the scene that was suddenly unfolding in front of him by heading for the south ditch but it couldn't avoid a portion of the load of logs spreading across the highway like corn flakes out of a box, and he hit the logs but not the other vehicles. Thank goodness the flat-deck was empty or there could have been even more debris."
The two truck drivers received only minor physical injuries.
Medical attention was almost immediate, by coincidence. One of the first vehicles upon the scene was an ambulance on a non-emergency trip between Prince George and Vanderhoof, and another motorist soon upon the crash was a first aid attendant. Vanderhoof Fire Department, Beaverly Volunteer Fire Department and Cluculz Lake Volunteer Fire Department sent personnel to the scene as well.
"Road crews actually built a dirt connecter from the roadside to the level portion of the highway so we could get a tow-truck in to remove one of the vehicles," Saunderson said. "It took a long time to get the scene stabilized and prepared to allow the extrication of the vehicles. It was a scene that provided a lot of hurdles that were not insurmountable but were time consuming."
Traffic was held up for hours. By late evening a make-shift detour eventually allowed passenger vehicles to pass by but commercial trucks and large vehicles were still held up. The highway did not fully reopen until about 4 a.m. Friday
Autopsies are being scheduled and a full investigation of the vehicles and circumstances will unfold, said Saunderson. Initial indications are that speed and/or alcohol were not factors. No identities will be released until consent of family is obtained.
