One man is dead and another was sent to hospital in Edmonton after they were struck by a pickup truck on Highway 44 last Monday.
The two men were struck when they were involved in pulling a vehicle out of the ditch along the east side of the highway just south of Township Road 602 at around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13, according to an RCMP press release written by Const. Rick Buisseret.
The report stated a tow truck operator was working to pull a vehicle out of the ditch. The tow truck had its rooftop lights flashing and headlights on, and was facing south while partially sitting in the northbound lane.
The operator and the driver of the vehicle in the ditch were on the roadway up against the tow truck, between the truck and the ditch.
A northbound pickup approached the scene, and seeing the south-facing tow truck swerved to the right to avoid the tow truck, and struck the two men.
RCMP said the 28-year-old owner of the truck in the ditch was pronounced dead at the scene.
The tow truck operator was taken to the Westlock hospital, and was later transported via STARS Air Ambulance to hospital in Edmonton in what RCMP termed “serious condition.”
The 74-year-old male driver of the pickup sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from the Westlock hospital.
Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Dwayne Rawson said the incident remains under investigation. Speed and alcohol are not factors in the collision.
Since the incident involved a worker getting injured while on the job, Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is also conducting its own investigation, he added. Highway 44 was closed for about three and a half hours from the Farm Credit Canada service road entrance north to Township 602, and reopened at around 11 p.m. that night.
Rawson said he wants motorists to know the law when it comes to encountering emergency vehicles or other vehicles on the roads that have their lights on. “It’s the law; you see flashing lights, slow up,” he said, adding motorists must slow to 60 km/h. However, he recommends slowing down even further at night.
