WESTLOCK – A 25-year-old man faces charges of impaired driving over .08 causing death and impaired driving over .08 causing bodily harm in relation to a fiery, late-November 2022 head-on crash on Highway 44 north that claimed the life of an 82-year-old Chisholm woman and sent her passenger to hospital.
Westlock RCMP Cpl. Riley Sutherland confirmed Feb. 10 that they were in process of contacting the man, who they’ve declined to name but did say he’s not local to Westlock, to inform him of the charges as his first date in Westlock Provincial Court is slated for March 8.
According to previous reporting, around 5:30 p.m., Nov. 26, 2022, Westlock RCMP responded to a head-on collision on Highway 44 near Township Road 612 just north of the Pibroch turnoff. Police reported then that a southbound Ford F-150 pickup truck appeared to have crossed the centre line and struck a northbound Chevrolet Malibu — following, the truck burst into flames.
A Nov. 28 media release from the RCMP confirmed that the driver of the Malibu, an 82-year-old woman from Chisholm, was declared dead at the scene, while the passenger in the car and the driver of the F-150 suffered minor injuries. Highway 44 was closed until midnight the day of the crash as STARS Air Ambulance was called to the scene.
Sutherland couldn’t talk about specifics of this case but said when they lay charges of this magnitude it normally entails “multiple units to complete the investigation.”
“We were waiting for all of the information and evidence to be analysed before we could proceed with charges,” said Sutherland.
