A multi-vehicle accident that occurred on Sunday has claimed the life of a B.C. man who police say was trying to be a good samaritan.
The accident involved six vehicles and took place on the Coquihalla near Larson Hill, about 32 kilometres south of Merritt.
UPDATE - #BCHwy5 CLOSED NB approx 35km south of #MerrittBC due to vehicle incident, one lane SB is getting through, expect major delays
— Drive BC (@DriveBC) February 11, 2018
Multiple Emergency Services agencies responded to the incident which closed the northbound lanes for about 10 hours.
The 35-year-old man was from the Lower Mainland, and had stopped to assist with the initial collision when he was struck by another vehicle.
#coquihalla - bad accident just pat the top of Larson hill - air ambulance on scene pic.twitter.com/64ZbrfTFF1
— Stu Leatherdale (@Stumon67) February 11, 2018
A 78-year-old male with critical injuries was taken by air ambulance to Kamloops, but his injuries have since been downgraded to serious. Two other people were transported to a local area hospital with minor injuries.
The cause of the collision is believed to be speed relative to road conditions and sudden changes in road condition in shaded areas of the highway.
Central Interior Traffic Services (CITS) RCMP, the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service and the BC Coroners Service continue to investigate this collision.
RCMP CITS in Merritt is asking that anyone with information regarding this collision who has not already spoken with police to contact Central Interior Traffic Services at (250) 378-4262, quoting file 2018-644.
