BARRHEAD - A motorcyclist suffered severe injuries after a June 26 two-vehicle collision at Highway 33 and Highway 654, roughly six kilometres south of the Town of Barrhead.
Barrhead RCMP Detachment commander Sgt. Bob Dodds said the motorcyclist was travelling south on Highway 33 at about noon when a westbound pickup on Highway 654 drove through the intersection, and the motorcycle struck it while attempting to cross onto Township Road 590.
Associated Ambulance, Barrhead Regional Fire Services and RCMP all attended the scene.
Dodds noted that the EMS crew had initially called for STARS Air Ambulance to attend but said they were unavailable. As such, they transported the patient to an Edmonton-area hospital via ground ambulance.
Dodds told the Barrhead Leader on June 27 that his latest information on the motorcycle driver was that they are in stable but critical condition, while the driver of the pickup was uninjured.
"It was your typical four-mile corner collision," he said. "A person travelling on Highway 654 comes up to the intersection without realizing someone is coming on (Highway 33), and there is a collision.”
Dodds added that over his nearly 13 years in Barrhead, he had seen several similar accidents at that intersection.
"I don't know what to do about it," he said, adding he is a bit perplexed why the intersection is so dangerous. "The last curve (on Highway 654) is at Lunnford, five or six miles from the intersection. I don't know if it is that they are not paying attention by the time they get to the intersection, or it is something else."
Dodds added the driver of the pickup indicated that he stopped at the stop sign at the intersection, but he did not know if he then stopped again at the stop line.
He said one mistake drivers often make, especially on rural highways, is they stop at the stop sign, which is setback from the stop line.
In this instance, Dodds said that someone at the scene said the stop sign was potentially obstructing the pickup driver's view.
"That is why the stop line is about 10 feet ahead of the stop sign so that you have an unobstructed view in both directions," he said. "You stop at the stop line, have a good look, and when it is safe to proceed, you do so."
Dodds did not indicate whether police had charged the pickup truck driver or if they were contemplating doing so.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
