A senior citizen of Quesnel was killed Friday morning when her vehicle collided with a commercial transport rig.
The woman, 72 (her name was withheld at the request of her family), was driving southbound on the approach to Quesnel when, according to police spokeswoman Const. Krista Vrolyk, she "lost control, crossing the center line colliding with the tractor unit of a northbound semi truck."
It happened at about 9:45 a.m. They were about 15 kms north of the Cariboo city, in the vicinity of 10 Mile Lake. The highway was closed for several hours at the collision scene, but a detour route was established via McLean Road and the Barkerville Highway so travellers could still move through the area.
The collision remains under investigation by an RCMP crash reconstructionist, aided by other police departments and partner agencies.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was a Lower Mainland resident. Vrolyk said, "He is very emotionally shaken by the tragedy, but did not suffer any physical injuries. He was taken to hospital as a precaution, but has been released."
The cause of the woman's loss of control has not been determined, hence the intense scrutiny of the scene's evidence. Drivers are urged by all emergency responders involved in this crash to slow down and think cautiously when driving in the current snowy conditions.
