A woman died and two others were injured in a fiery highway crash near Redwater last week.
On Dec. 22 at 1:45 p.m. two vehicles collided just six kilometres west of Redwater, on Highway 28 and Range Road 223. One vehicle became fully engulfed in flames, RCMP said in a press release on Dec. 30.
The female driver and sole occupant of one of the vehicles died at the scene, while the two occupants of the other vehicle were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
RCMP said the cause of the collision is still being investigated, but extremely poor road conditions are believed to be a factor.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of the Alberta RCMP said this crash was one of many during the holiday season.
"It was very unfortunate with the timing of the poor weather around the province just before the Christmas holidays," Savinkoff said.
"We saw a great deal of collisions all around the Edmonton area," Savinkoff said, adding many of those were on the QEII highway involving semi-trucks.
Many happened at once, which had a huge impact on RCMP resources as they responded, investigated, and cleared the roads so drivers could use the highways.
RCMP attributed the spike in collisions to bad winter driving conditions around the holiday season, when many residents traveled to visit loved ones.
"Winter driving conditions will naturally see an increase," Savinkoff said, but if there is ice with wet snow on top or a fast wind, it can cause more collisions.
Albertans hitting the roads over the next few weeks are encouraged to check road conditions by dialing 511, Savinkoff said, a resource with up-to-date information from RCMP on the driving conditions across the province.
"That would be advisable to have a quick check on that first to ensure that the road conditions are safe and clear," Savinkoff said.
If you have second thoughts about driving, Savinkoff said listen to that voice and stay off the roads.
"Events can be postponed for a day until the roads clear up," Savinkoff said.
Roads are generally at their worst during a weather event, but they soon clear once sanding tricks can get out to improve conditions, Savinkoff said.
"A little bit of patience is the number one [piece of] advice I have," Savinkoff said.
