Freezing rain led to treacherous road conditions for the Thursday, Dec. 29 morning commute, resulting in an accident south of Westlock that sent one man to hospital.
Westlock RCMP were called at 7:16 a.m. to Highway 44 and Township Road 582, roughly five kilometres south of Pickardville, after a truck collided with a flipped-over semi, said Cpl. Sandra Milner.
The chain-reaction collision started when a southbound Ford Mustang lost control, crossed the highway and ended up in the east ditch, she said.
“The semi was also southbound and I think saw this vehicle spinning and also slowed down and ended up flipping,” she said, adding the semi flipped onto the driver’s side, blocking the southbound lane.
Minutes later, a southbound truck collided with the rolled-over semi.
“It wasn’t part of the initial rollover, (but) another truck southbound with a small trailer in the back saw lights and things but did not see the dark semi,” she said. “It ended up crashing into the undercarriage of the semi.”
The passenger of the truck was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries while the driver of the semi and truck were both treated on scene.
“Roads were treacherous,” she said. “You could hardly walk out on sidewalks. It was a thick coat of ice from freezing rain.”
The investigation is still ongoing and Milner said charges are not anticipated. Speed and alcohol are not considered to be factors in the collision and all occupants were wearing seatbelts.
