Accident on Pine Pass near Chetwynd results in death of truck driver

CHETWYND, B.C. — An accident on Highway 97 along the Pine Pass near Chetwynd resulted in the death of a 64-year-old male truck driver earlier this month.

According to Detachment Commander Wahnese Antonio-Stevens, Chetwynd RCMP received a callout from Emergency Health Services (EHS) at approximately 8:45 p.m. on March 9th. 

“[EHS] said there was a rollover in the Pine Pass by the Silver Sands [Forest Service Road] area, and that one person was trapped inside the vehicle, and police were required,” said Antonio-Stevens. 

“We attended to find the road conditions were very, very slippery and pretty much glare ice.”

Though the slippery conditions are believed to be a contributing factor to the accident, Antonio-Stevens says the RCMP cannot conclude it as the only factor that caused the truck to roll over. 

The truck driver was alive at the time responders arrived, but unfortunately, he passed away at the scene of the incident. 

“We called search and rescue as well as a number of other agencies to assist with extracting the male out of the vehicle,” said Stevens-Antonio. “He was trapped inside.”

Other agencies that attended the scene include the Chetwynd Fire Department, Emergency Health Services, and BC Ambulance.

Antonio-Stevens says although it is unclear how long the driver was trapped, RCMP is aware it happened on March 8th — the night before they received the callout. 

The area where the vehicle was located was steep, icy and on a sharp curve, according to the detachment commander, who also says the rescue took a “huge effort” from responders on the scene. 

“[There was] a good team effort from everybody together to work towards stabilizing the vehicle in order to ensure a safe extraction of the gentleman, who passed away shortly after,” said Antonio-Stevens.

The exact cause of the driver’s death is unknown by RCMP at this time.