Emergency personnel tend to one of the accident victims following a three-vehicle crash at the bottom of Graveyard Hill north of Osoyoos on Tuesday afternoon. The black Silverado pictured at right apparently rolled several times. (Keith Lacey photo)
Three people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following a three-vehicle collision at the bottom of what is commonly known as ‘Graveyard Hill” five kilometres north of Osoyoos on Hwy. 97 Tuesday afternoon.
Cpl. Ryan McLeod, of RCMP South Okanagan Traffic Services, sad Osoyoos RCMP, South Okanagan Traffic Services, ambulance and fire personnel responded to a 911 call received at 4:39 p.m. Tuesday.
Police determined that a gold-coloured Pontiac Grand Am was involved in a head-on collision with a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
A Smart Car was caught up in the resulting crash, McLeod said in a news release issued Wednesday.
Three people were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries ranging from moderate to serious.
Emergency first responders from the Osoyoos Fire Department blocked off traffic, while an RCMP officer redirected traffic up 91st Street that leads back to Hwy. 97. The detour lasted three hours while police investigated the crash scene.
Emergency personnel worked feverishly to extricate the driver of a black Chevy Silverado pickup truck that reportedly rolled several times after hitting a sedan travelling southbound towards Osoyoos.
Several witnesses at the scene said the northbound truck rolled numerous times after the collision with the sedan and then struck a small Smart Car.
The truck ended up in a ditch on the east side of Hwy. 97.
The driver was extricated by emergency personnel and transferred by ambulance to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
The drivers of the sedan and Smart Car reportedly suffered minor injuries and were taken to South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver as a precautionary measure.
RCMP say the cause of the accident is still under investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact South Okanagan Traffic Services at 250-499-2250
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Emergency personnel were called to the scene of a three-vehicle accident late Tuesday afternoon at the bottom of Graveyard Hill to the north of Osoyoos. (Keith Lacey photo)
