A 19-year-old man from Saskatchewan was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries following a two-vehicle crash on Dec. 11 at the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 564, just outside Beiseker, at around 9:30 a.m.
Witness reports indicated that the 19 year old, who was travelling eastbound on Highway 564, ran the stop sign; and as a result, his vehicle hit a transport truck driving northbound on Highway 9.
“The intersection is controlled by stop signs, rumble strips and flashing red lights,” said Sgt. Glen Demmon of Beiseker RCMP.
“By law, you have to come to a complete stop before proceeding through.”
The driver of the car was transported to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance with life-threatening injuries; his condition had been upgraded to critical but stable as of press time.
The names of the drivers have not been released as the investigation is ongoing to determine whether or not charges will be laid.
“The most common charge in this type of incident is failure to obey a traffic control device,” said Demmon.
“There could be other charges, depending on what the accident reconstruction team finds, whether or not this was speed related or if it was due to road conditions.”
According to Demmon, road conditions at the accident scene were, “typical winter conditions,” with icy patches and hard-packed snow.
The driver of the transport truck was not injured. Highway 9 was closed for approximately five hours and re-opened at 3 p.m. on Dec. 11.
Check stop blitz
Alberta RCMP charged 35 drivers with impaired driving during a check stop blitz over the weekend.
RCMP conducted 157 check stops in local communities and on major roadways across the province, stopping and checking 13,929 vehicles on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8.
In some locations, Alberta Traffic Sheriffs and municipal police officers worked alongside the RCMP.
“The officers who worked the check stops in the brutal cold on Saturday (Dec. 7) night can take pride in knowing that their collective efforts took 70 impaired drivers off the roads,” said Superintendant Howard Eaton, Officer in Charge of ‘K’ Division Traffic Services.
“Last weekend was unique in terms of the number of RCMP officers deployed at one time, but we will be out again this weekend and every weekend until we win the battle against impaired driving.”
A total of 35 motorists were charged with driving while impaired by alcohol, another 31 drivers were issued roadside suspensions due to alcohol. Four motorists were issued roadside suspensions due to drugs.
Check stop campaigns took place in all RCMP jurisdictions across Canada on Dec. 7, which marked the end of National Safe Driving week that ran from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7.
The RCMP would like to remind drivers who see a suspected impaired driver to call 911 from a hands-free phone and report the suspected driver.
If anyone has information on an unsolved crime, contact your local RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
