Local emergency crews worked throughout the evening of Nov. 9 to remove the body of an Osoyoos woman who was killed when the vehicle she was driving crashed down an embankment off Hwy. 3 at the base of the Richter Pass. A male passenger in the truck survived and is in hospital with serious injuries. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-November 11, 2009
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
Police suspect alcohol and fatigue contributed to a fatal crash in Osoyoos on Nov. 9.
A 48-year-old Osoyoos woman was killed when the pickup truck she was driving veered off Hwy. 3 at the base of the Richter Pass and plunged more than 20 metres down an embankment.
Police said Anna Torine Burris was heading eastbound in a 2005 GMC Canyon pickup truck when the crash happened just before 9 p.m.
She was found dead at the scene.
Witnesses at the scene initially said the driver was from the Lower Mainland, but police later said she was returning to Osoyoos from a trip to the Lower Mainland.
A 54-year-old Greenwood man who was riding in the truck survived the crash and was taken to hospital with injuries police described as serious but not life-threatening.
Police were not releasing the man’s name, but emergency officials did confirm that it was the passenger who reported the crash by calling 911.
The truck hit one of FortisBC’s suspended power lines near the embankment before coming to rest near Vineyard Road just west of the Buena Vista Industrial Park in west Osoyoos.
According to FortisBC, the power went out for roughly 1,500 people in the area at 9 p.m. due to the crash.
Power was restored to all but a handful of people by 10:55 p.m.
Because the truck had ended up in close contact with electrical wires, it took some time for emergency personnel to remove the victim from the vehicle.
Members of the Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department had to wait until FortisBC confirmed that the power wouldn’t come back on before removing the victim from the truck, said department chief, Rick Jones.
He added that department members had responded to a call that someone was trapped in the vehicle along with police and ambulance crews.
Because the passenger was unable to give an exact location, Jones said, it was difficult for emergency crews to find the truck.
Police said the passenger was able to guide emergency crews to the scene by placing a laser light on the vehicle to attract attention.
Witnesses to the crash are asked to contact the South Okanagan Traffic Services in Keremeos at 250- 499-2250.
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