One man is dead and a woman injured after the trucks they were driving collided on Highway 16 between Burns Lake and Endako.
The highway was closed in both directions as RCMP crash analysts gathered evidence. The incident happened at about 20 minutes past midnight on Monday morning. The deceased man is a 55-year-old Kelowna resident. The surviving driver is a Fraser Lake woman who was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No others were involved.
"Investigation indicates that a west-bound tractor-trailer unit pulling a 60-foot produce trailer collided with an east-bound tractor-trailer unit hauling logs," said Burns Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Mike Kisters. "There is extensive damage to both vehicles. The truck pulling the produce trailer had a fire as a result of the crash."
The collision happened near the Sheraton Overpass about 32 kilometres east of Burns Lake. The wreckage and ensuing investigation caused a long wait for Highway 16 travellers. It was more than 12 hours before single-lane alternating traffic got underway, and even longer for the debris to be cleared for full resumption of motoring.
"We looked for ways to detour but there were no available routes to bypass this incident," Kisters said.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The names of those involved were not released as of press deadline.
