Semi driver airlifted to hospital after losing control of vehicle on Trans-Canada near Sicamous
Update - Friday, 3:20 p.m.
A Surrey man was airlifted to hospital in Kamloops following a semi tractor-trailer accident west of Sicamous on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Sicamous RCMP Const. Dusty Miller says that around noon on Friday, Feb. 24, the driver of a westbound semi lost control while travelling up one of the hills. The vehicle went off the road to the left, crossed the oncoming lane and collided with a rock face along the highway. The Eagle Valley Rescue Society and Salmon Arm Rescue were called in to extract the driver.
The driver and passenger, both from Surrey, suffered undetermined injuries. The passenger was taken to hospital in Salmon Arm. The driver, however, was taken to the nearby rest area where he was airlifted to hospital in Kamloops.
Miller says road conditions were bad at the time of the incident, and that the driver can expect a ticket for speeding relative to conditions.
Traffic was closed for some time after the incident and is now open, but limited to single-lane/alternating traffic. Road conditions remain slippery and drivers can expect wait times.
A snowfall warning is in effect for the Revelstoke and Glacier National Park area. Highway closures for avalanche control may be required.
Update - Friday, 2:50 p.m.
Traffic is now being allowed to pass through, but is reduced to single-lane only.
Earlier today
The Trans-Canada Highway is closed near Sicamous due to an accident involving a semi-tractor trailer.
The incident occurred Friday afternoon, two kilometres west of Sicamous. The semi-driver was said to be trapped in the vehicle and requiring extraction.
DriveBC says the highway remains closed in both directions and may not reopen until 4:30 p.m. (though confidence is low). Drivers are being rerouted to Highway 97 and 97A.
The News will provide more details of the incident as they become available.
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