Fatal accident on Highway 97 near Chetwynd

**Update – As of 11pm, Highway 97 has been re-opened after being closed for just over 7 hours.

The Chetwynd RCMP are reporting a serious accident on Highway 97.

At approximately 3:45pm on Saturday February 27th, the RCMP were called to a fatal collision involving two vehicles.  The accident occurred approximately 36 km west of Chetwynd.

A female passenger of the west bound mini-van was pronounced dead on arrival, while the driver was transported to the Chetwynd Hospital with minor injuries.  The driver of the east bound vehicle was also taken to the hospital and sustained only minor injuries.

At this time the name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The RCMP also report that as of 9pm, both lanes of Highway 97 in that area will be closed for several more hours.