Image Credit: Shelly Montreuil/Facebook

By Victor Kaisar

Fatal Crashes

Pair of Merritt-area crashes claim two lives Friday night

Oct 12, 2025 | 8:19 AM

MERRITT — Two people were killed in two separate crashes with vehicles in the Merritt-area on Friday (Oct. 10) night, though police say criminality is not a factor in either crash.

“Two very tragic occurrences occurred within minutes of one another,” Merritt RCMP spokesperson Cst. Blake Chursinoff said in a statement. “The evidence states that both of these collisions occurred independently and are not connected in any way.”

Chursinoff said at 8:18 p.m. Friday night, Merritt RCMP officers were dispatched to reports that a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle on the Coquihalla between Exits 286 and 290.

He noted that police arrived to find that a man had been hit by a vehicle that was occupied by a family that was bound for the Lower Mainland for the Thanksgiving long weekend. The driver remained at the scene and has been cooperating with police.

The crash led to a closure of the southbound lanes of the Coquihalla so Merritt RCMP officers could investigate.

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Chursinoff noted that while police were responding to that call, they came across another crash between a pedestrian and a vehicle at the Knights Inn shelter at 2702 Nicola Avenue around 8:25 p.m.

In this case as well, Chursinoff said the pedestrian was found dead on the road, and the driver – and only occupant – of the vehicle remained at the scene and has been cooperating with police.

This crash led to the closure of Nicola Avenue between Houston Street and Menzies Street so police could investigate.

“At this time we are thinking of the families of the two deceased pedestrians, and also each of the drivers and families who found themselves involved in such a tragic incident on Friday night,” Chursinoff added.