Head-on collision sends a senior to hospital

A two-vehicle collision on the Trans-Canada Highway in Glacier National Park sent a senior to hospital with serious injuries on Sunday.

A statement from Staff Sgt. Jacquie Olsen said investigation showed that a west-bound pickup truck driven by a 72-year-old male from Nanaimo, for as yet unknown reasons, crossed the center line and struck an Alberta tractor-trailer unit almost head-on at about 2 pm. He spun around and came to rest approximately 15 feet down the west-bound lane embankment.

The driver was extracted from the vehicle by Revelstoke Search and Rescue and airlifted by helicopter to the Kelowna General Hospital with serious injuries.

His five-year-old passenger was shaken but not injured. The driver of the semi-tractor trailer unit and his passenger were not injured either.

There was a small fuel leak that required cleaning up and traffic was slowed for hours during this incident.

Police are continuing their investigation.