Latest fatal crash on Highway 5 has locals calling for provincial action

Local leaders are voicing their concerns to the provincial government about a stretch of B.C. highway that has claimed at least a dozen lives this year.

The section in question is about 50 kilometres of Highway 5, located north of Kamloops, B.C., where police say a fatal collision happened this weekend.

According to local RCMP, two people died Saturday after a northbound SUV collided with a southbound semi-trailer near the unincorporated community of Little Fort, B.C., about 98 kilometres north of Kamloops.

One of the vehicles is believed to have crossed the centre line, although police would not specify which vehicle that was. RCMP confirmed that both occupants of the SUV were killed.

Ward Stamer, mayor of the nearby District of Barriere, says he and other area leaders have scheduled a meeting with the Ministry of Transportation next week to talk about safety needs on the treacherous stretch. 

Stamer said the meeting will include Chief George Lampreau of the Simpcw First Nation and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell, as well as the maintenance contractor for the highway in that area. 

"We are certainly going to be looking at opportunities to hopefully increase our enforcement, particularly through the Christmas season when we have so many travellers travelling on our highways," said Stamer.

WATCH | Dashcam footage captures a close call on Highway 5 in March 2023:

Truck narrowly avoids oncoming traffic after passing on double solid line

2 years ago

Duration 0:14

Dashcam footage captured a close call on Highway 5 near Barriere, B.C., when a truck driver passed on a double solid line, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. Local leaders are calling for more safety enforcement on this stretch of road following multiple fatalities.

Concerns have been mounting over this section of road for months.

In March, Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell called for more RCMP officers to enforce traffic laws along Highway 5 and stressed the importance of having B.C. Highway Patrol officers stationed in Clearwater and Kamloops — instead of having them dispatched from Kelowna or elsewhere.

That same month, Jim Nagel, a longtime driver with Kamloops-based transportation company Arrow, said the lack of law enforcement along Highway 5 was a major reason behind the deadly crashes.

"When I first started in this business in the late '70s and the early '80s, there were police everywhere — you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a police car," Nagel said. "[Now] they're like ghosts — they only show up when the crashes happen."

Stamer said there had been a commitment from the ministry to increase enforcement along that stretch of road over the last couple of years and, when those efforts were being made, it helped.

"Unfortunately, we had thousands of tickets, but we also didn't see the same type of carnage that we are seeing again," said Stamer.

Stamer is worried enforcement efforts have waned and he wants the province to step it up again to help reduce aggressive driving and ensure people are driving according to road and weather conditions.

RCMP say there was heavy snowfall on the highway Saturday when the most recent fatal crash occurred.

The investigation into what caused that collision is ongoing.

B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said in March he was concerned about the growing number of deadly vehicle crashes along the stretch of Highway 5 between Kamloops and Clearwater.

He has promised to look into additional safety measures, including stepped-up traffic enforcement, lowering speed limits and making dashcams mandatory on commercial vehicles.

Stamer said the meeting between local leaders and the province is scheduled for Dec. 14.