A 28-year-old Westlock man is dead following a Monday-night crash north of town that shut down Highway 44 for three-and-a-half hours.
RCMP say a local towing company employee was attempting to pull a vehicle out of the ditch on Jan. 13 — his truck had its overhead emergency lights activated and it was parked on the highway facing south and was partially in the northbound lane.
Police report that a northbound pickup truck passing the scene swerved right to avoid the tow truck — that was partially in its lane — and struck the tow truck driver and the person whose car was in the ditch who were standing beside the tow truck control panel.
Westlock RCMP, Westlock RCMP Traffic Services, an RCMP collision analyst, Westlock Fire Department, Westlock County Fire Services and EMS were called at around 7:30 p.m. and attended the scene — the owner of the vehicle being towed, a 28-year-old man from Westlock, was pronounced dead. The tow truck driver, who police say was in serious condition, was first taken by ground ambulance to the Westlock hospital and later transported to an Edmonton hospital via STARS Air Ambulance.
The driver of the northbound pickup truck, a 74-year-old Pibroch man, suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from hospital. Highway 44 re-opened at 11 p.m. and police say road conditions at the time of the crash were icy, but visibility was good.
Occupational Health and Safety have been advised of the accident and will be jointly conducting an investigation with the local RCMP.
RCMP say alcohol and speed were not factors in the crash. In addition, the names of the people involved are not being released.
