Highway Cleared- Two In Hospital
Thursday, November 7, 2013 @ 10:57 AM
McLeese Lake, B.C.- Two people are in hospital as a result of injuries suffered in a single vehicle crash this morning that closed Highway 97, about 10 km north of McLeese Lake for about 2 hours.
Initial reports indicated that a commercial truck and trailer unit was travelling northbound when the driver lost control, left the roadway and flipped into the southbound ditch, trapping its two occupants inside. It was later determined that the occupants remained in the vehicle awaiting emergency personnel as a precaution due to the extent of their injuries.
The occupants of the vehicle were extracted by Williams Lake Highway Rescue.
The 46 year old male driver was transported to hospital in Williams Lake where he is being treated for non life threatening injuries to his collarbone. The 23 year old female passenger was transported to Kamloops via air ambulance where she is being treated for non life threatening injuries to her head and upper body.
At the time of the crash, the road was covered by slush and ice.
Comments
I would think that of special interest would be the “passenger”.
Who knows the regulations regarding carrying a second person – passenger versus an employee who is along as a second driver?
Maybe he/she was the instructor. You don’t know.
Sleeper team maybe? Or owner operator with wife who travels with him?
Or hitchhiker, you never know until told
46 year old driver and 23 year old female ….
I believe the only legal one would be that she was an employee of the company and second driver. Or that it was an emergency. I know that is the way it is in the US. Not too sure what the regs are in Canada.
I suspect peegee is going in the right direction. If there is no reg against it, I doubt an insurance company would insure a hitchhiker or other kind of unauthorized passenger.
There is no laws or regs regarding passengers in a commercial vehicle . It is up to the company to decide . Usually a company will give permission if a waiver is signed and on a case by case basis . There are lots of reasons why a passenger may have been in the truck . As stated before could have been a trainee or a sleeper team , or simply another company employee catching a ride . That happens a lot too .
Sounds good.
I was curious because I dealt with a WCB claim at one time which involved a driver who picked up a hitchhiker and dropped her off at a location which took him off the workroute. He had an accident, and his claim was denied because he was not “working”.
It is a bit of a digression from this case. I just find it interesting that there are all sorts of little legal nuances.
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