Fiery crash on Highway 97 near Oliver, B.C. injures 2
Logging truck set ablaze by impact: RCMP
An accident on Highway 97 near Oliver, B.C. sent two people to hospital just before 1 p.m. PT on Sunday.
RCMP say a logging truck and a small passenger car collided.
"There was a small car heading southbound and it went into the oncoming lane where there was a logging truck," said witness Travis McBeth at the scene of the accident near Vaseux Lake.
Serious accident has closed Hwy97 north of Oliver in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/okanagan?src=hash">#okanagan</a>. Truck driver okay. Fate of 2 in car unknown <a href="https://t.co/Aei2ZxOHbJ">pic.twitter.com/Aei2ZxOHbJ</a>
—@ChrisWalkerCBC"The logging truck driver tried to avoid the accident by putting the truck into the ditch, but unfortunately it didn't pan out."
"There was an accident and the logging truck driver made it out OK, we watched him climb out."
McBeth said it looked as though the occupants of the car had been injured.
Ambulance officials said one patient was taken to hospital in stable condition and another was airlifted in critical condition.
RCMP said there was only one person in the Toyota Corolla, a 46-year-old female driver, when it crossed the centre line into the northbound lane.
"Rescue crews had to cut the vehicle open to extricate the woman who had suffered critical injuries," wrote Cpl. Dan Moskaluk in a release.
The woman was airlifted to Kelowna for medical care.
Logging truck not loaded
The male driver of the logging truck suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Penticton for medical care
The highway was closed and then opened to single lane alternating traffic as investigators worked at the scene.
"The impact set the tractor unit ablaze, however the truck was not carrying a load at the time," wrote Moskaluk.