An Edmonton man is dead after an SUV smashed into a flatbed truck west of Namao yesterday.
At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, Morinville RCMP got a call about a crash on Highway 37 about five kilometres east of Highway 2. When they and county fire services arrived, they found a charcoal-grey 2008 Ford Escape SUV had smashed into a flatbed trailer truck carrying four large pipes.
The driver of the SUV, a 52-year-old man with an Edmonton address, was severely wounded in the collision and died at the scene. The truck driver was uninjured.
According to Cpl. Jason Zazulak of the Morinvile RCMP, investigators believe the westbound SUV crossed the centre line and into the path of the eastbound truck.
“The semi driver did swerve to the right in an attempt to avoid the collision, but couldn’t get [the truck] over enough in time.”
The crash smashed the front end of the SUV and sheared off the driver-side front tire. It also knocked off the driver-side wheel on the truck and punctured the driver-side fuel tank, causing diesel to spill into the north ditch where the truck came to a stop.
Police closed both lanes of the highway for several hours while they cleared debris and soil contaminated by the diesel. They have not released the name of the deceased.
The RCMP do not plan to lay charges, Zazulak said, and don’t know why the SUV driver swerved into the oncoming lane.
“It’s a flat stretch of road with good visibility,” he says. Conditions were clear and dry, and traffic was very light. “There was nothing out of the ordinary happening there.”
The deceased did not have any medical conditions, Zazulak said, and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The car was a company vehicle that the man was authorized to drive and did not have any mechanical issues. “Why the vehicle swerved over, we don’t know.”
