A 46-year-old Oliver woman is in stable condition after a collision with a logging truck on Highway 97 at Vaseux Lake on Sunday. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
A 46-year-old Oliver woman was fighting for her life Sunday after being involved in a horrific crash on Highway 97 at Vaseux Lake.
RCMP report that the driver of a Toyota Corolla crossed the centre line at approximately 1 p.m. and collided head-on with an oncoming logging truck in front of Vaseux Lake Provincial Park.
The unloaded truck subsequently burst into flames, but the driver managed to escape with minor injuries.
The lone occupant of the car suffered life- threatening injuries and was trapped in the vehicle.
Members of the Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate her from the mangled Corolla. She was taken to Penticton Regional Hospital and later transferred to Kelowna General Hospital.
She is currently in stable condition, according to the RCMP. Her name has not been released.
Police continue to investigate, but say road conditions were not a factor in the accident.
For Okanagan Falls firefighters, it was a challenging scene dealing with the burning truck and the trapped driver.
Debris from the car was strewn far and wide, and the highway was closed for hours as collision reconstructionists determined what happened.
RCMP officers confer while investigating the collision. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
Constable Mark Fulton of South Okanagan Traffic Services takes photographs of the mangled Corolla. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
Okanagan Falls firefighters Rob Somerville (left) and Capt. Fred Dobransky survey the scene of the burned logging truck. Photo by Stuart Dickinson
