Cause of Double Fatality Accident Remains Undetermined
Saturday, August 31, 2013 @ 5:42 AM
Prince George, B.C. – A North District RCMP Traffic Services official has put to rest speculation that wildlife may have been involved in causing a fatal accident north of Quesnel Wednesday afternoon.
At 3:41 pm Wednesday a car heading south crossed the centre line of Highway 97 near Hush Lake and crashed head-on into a northbound chip truck. Both vehicles burst into flame and the car, a rental unit from the Lower Mainland, was destroyed. Both people in the car perished. The driver of the chip truck escaped injury.
Recent media reports have suggested that the driver of the car swerved to avoid a group of ducks on the highway. However, Corporal Madonna Saunderson discounts those claims. “We had some evidence to suggest that some wildlife may have been involved, however we have received a briefing from the Quesnel detachment that that has been ruled out. From what we found at the scene we can say that wasn’t the cause, but we don’t know if other wildlife was there and then was gone, went away.”
Cpl. Saunderson sheds some light on the duck aspect. “There was a duck that was found at the scene, and it was so close to the point of impact and quite newly-dead that we thought we’d look into that. We didn’t want to put anything out there until we had determined through a veterinarian how long the duck had been dead. But the duck had been dead long before the crash ever happened. Now, whether there was a duck or geese or any other wildlife that managed to escape that may have caused the driver to be startled, we don’t know. But we do know that what we found is not the cause of the crash.”
Cpl. Saunderson says the cause remains under investigation and adds that the probe has been hampered somewhat. “I highly doubt we’ll have anything mechanical done simply because the vehicle was burnt right down to the metal so there is nothing left to do mechanical (inspections) on.”
Cpl. Saunderson says the identities of the two victims remain unknown at this time. Coroner Lynne Hyatt is conducting that investigation and is trying to confirm I.D.s through dental records. Cpl. Saunderson says she may also be able to conduct toxicology tests to determine whether there might have been a medical issue which affected the driver of the car.
Comments
I guess they hate to say the “S” word.
What do you mean by that NoWay ?
Ask the truck driver he seen it all happen!
âI highly doubt weâll have anything mechanical done simply because the vehicle was burnt right down to the metal so there is nothing left to do mechanical (inspections) on.â
Ya, nothing made of metal could have failed and caused the crash. Good call!
and can’t they check with the rental company? surely the VIN wasn’t destroyed in the fire to determine who the car was registered to? I guess that all takes time though…but they did say earlier that car was a rental from the lower mainland
I’m guessing that they have a pretty good idea who was in the car because of car rental records, but they still need to confirm with dental records because of the fire.
Comments for this article are closed.