BC Interior posted Apr 22, 2025 @ 09:00am by Josh Duncan

Both drivers suffer ‘serious injuries’ in Coquihalla crash between 2 semis

A crash that closed the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5) on Monday night sent a pair of commercial vehicle drivers to hospital.

The RCMP says the drivers of both semi tractors with attached trailers involved in the collision shortly after 6 pm suffered “serious injuries.”

One of them was airlifted to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

<who>Photo Credit: Brent Presber via Coquihalla Road Reports Facebook group/Merritt RCMP

According to police, the semis collided in the southbound lanes of Hwy 5 around 30 kilometres south of Merritt.

“One of the semi tractors and trailers sustained significant damage and the driver had to be extracted by the Merritt Fire Department,” an RCMP release explained.

S/Sgt. Josh Roda says the cause of the crash is still under investigation and it’s a “stark reminder that even when conditions are clear, collisions can happen.”

Investigators are looking to speak with additional witnesses and are urging anyone with information, who has yet to talk to police, to call the Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262.

Hwy 5 was fully shut down for a brief period on Monday night before the northbound lanes were reopened. Southbound lanes finally reopened shortly after midnight.

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