A traffic incident at Fraser Lake has claimed the life of one life-long area resident and injured four other people.
The two-vehicle collision happened Sunday evening just after 3 p.m. According to family and police, an eastbound pickup collided with a westbound pickup truck on the outskirts of Fraser Lake just before the Stellaquo bridge.
Dave McEntire, 40, died at the scene. His wife Cherie was severely injured, and their son Dalton was also injured. She was airlifted to University Hospital of Northern B.C. with serious injuries while the youth was able to stay at St. John's Hospital in Vanderhoof with wounds considered relatively minor.
Cherie McEntire is now being treated for a number of medical needs, the most severe of which are a fractured lower back and a broken neck, however it seems like there is no damage to the spinal nerves.
"The driver and passenger of the pickup were also taken to St. John's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries," said Fraser Lake RCMP Sgt. Rocky Calhoun. Their names have not been released by authorities. "Two of the occupants of the car required the jaws of life to be extricated."
The McEntire's were on their way home to Burns Lake after a hockey tournament Cherie played in in Prince George over the weekend.
Sources said the pickup might have crossed the centre line into the path of the McEntire vehicle. Police in Fraser Lake would not disclose the factors involved in the crash, when questioned by The Citizen on Monday, other than to confirm the investigation is active into what caused the crash.
Highway 16 West was closed in both directions for more than three hours, then opened to single-lane alternating for a period after that. Many vehicles detoured around Fraser Lake via the north side of the lake.
