Driver killed in single-vehicle accident
Despite the heroic rescue attempts by two men, a 44-year-old Keremeos woman died after her vehicle slid off Highway 3 and landed upside down in the Similkameen River Saturday.
RCMP Const. Mike Leiding, who was on duty at the time, and an unidentified Argo highway maintenance worker reportedly arrived on the accident scene just east of Princeton shortly after the incident at 7:33 a.m.
The officer observed an injured woman on the side of the road and another woman on the icy river bank holding onto a female in the water to prevent her from being washed downstream by the current.
Leiding and the other man pulled the one woman from the river and quickly jumped in to try and save the driver from the submerged, overturned 1995 Honda Accord.
Unable to free her, they used chains and the Argo truck to flip the car over, however, by that time it appeared the unidentified woman had drowned.
According to Cpl. Dave Cramm of the RCMP's Integrated Road Safety Unit, all four occupants of the vehicle were related.
He said the three survivors were taken to Penticton Regional Hospital by ambulance with moderate to severe, non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the officer, the car was eastbound on the highway when the driver apparently lost control on the slippery road surface, crossed the centre line, going over the embankment on the left and winding up in the river.
In addition to police and B.C. Ambulance Service personnel, crews from the Princeton Fire and Rescue and a member of the B.C. Coroners Service also attended.
The investigation is continuing.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.