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UPDATED: Okanagan man dies after vehicle crashes into tree, catching on fire

The incident happened in Lake Country about 11 a.m. Monday
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UPDATE: 3:00 p.m.

Raechel Allan-Nicholls told the Capital News that she was detailing the side of a boat in the Oyama Yacht Club yard when she heard tires hit the gravel and a loud noise.

“It was just an unnatural noise,” said Allan-Nicholls, who called 911.

“It was something I’d never heard before, but I knew it wasn’t a good noise.”

When the dust settled, Allan-Nicholls said she saw an SUV with a man in the driver’s seat and the front of the vehicle had been caved in by the large tree.

Flames appeared and Allan-Nicholls shouted for other staff of the Yacht Club to grab a fire extinguisher.

She said the man was unresponsive and estimated that he was in his early 30s.

The victim’s family has been notified, RCMP Traffic Services has confirmed.

ORIGINAL: 12:30 p.m.

A man has died after his vehicle smashed into a tree in Lake Country and caught on fire.

The incident happened just after 11 a.m. on Oyama Road near the Community Club.

Witnesses on scene attempted to douse the flames before emergency crews arrived.

The Lake Country Fire Department managed to extinguish the vehicle blaze; however the driver died at the scene.

READ MORE: Motorboat crashes into log boom on Okanagan Lake

Traffic is blocked on Oyama Road and is being redirected to Trask Road.

RCMP on scene said there was a significant impact to the tree from the vehicle but no deviation in tire tracks from the road.

A medical issue is not being ruled out at this time.

READ MORE: Bail hearing set for West Kelowna man charged with attempted murder

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