By Doug Collins

Coquihalla Highway open following fatal crash

Apr 2, 2017 | 3:46 PM

MERRITT, B.C. —  The Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt was the scene of a fatality and multiple accidents yesterday afternoon.

Motorists were stranded in long lineups as they waited for the highway to be cleared, while weather got worse by the minute.

Sergeant Mike Pears of the Central Interior Traffic Services section says just after 3:00 PM yesterday afternoon, RCMP and Emergency responders left Merritt after a report of an accident involving a single vehicle that had crashed south of the community near Comstock Road.

As the driver and lone occupant of the vehicle got out, her vehicle was struck by a northbound vehicle. That collision killed the woman who had exited the vehicle.

Sergeant Pears says an RCMP member got out of his vehicle to secure the scene, when his cruiser was rear ended by another vehicle, triggering a series of secondary collisions that involved at least four other vehicles.

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Pears says roads were slush-covered at the time. He says other than the fatality, other injuries were not believed life-threatening.

It’s believed at least 10 people were hurt overall, five taken to hospital in Merritt, another five transported to Royal Inland in Kamloops.

Traffic was stopped on the highway for several hours, with the northbound lanes not reopening until late last night.

The identity of the woman killed in yesterday’s collision has not yet been identified. 

Pears says this is the time of year when weather conditions can change suddenly, and motorists may have to adjust quickly to those changing conditions, such as we saw yesterday. He says good winter tires are still the order of the day at this time of year. 

— With files from Global News