ENTERPRISE
Two people were injured on March 21 in a collision involving a plow truck and another vehicle on Highway 1, about 40 km south of Enterprise.
A Department of Transportation plow truck and a half-ton truck collided on March 21 on Highway 1, about 40 km south of Enterprise. Two people were injured in the accident. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
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Sgt. Chad Orr of the RCMP Hay River Detachment said the accident occurred just before 11 a.m. between the Department of Transportation plow truck and a half-ton truck.
"Two people were injured and taken to hospital," said Orr.
According to a prepared statement by the RCMP, one person had been released as of March 22, while the other individual was transferred to Edmonton for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Orr said reduced visibility created by blowing snow from a vehicle was a potential cause of the accident.
Greg Whitlock, the regional superintendent for the South Slave with the Department of Transportation, said from what he understood, the half-ton truck was behind a southward bound transport truck, which slowed down when it approached the plow truck heading north.
Whitlock said it is unclear if the half-ton truck swerved to avoid hitting the transport truck or was attempting to pass when it collided with the plow truck.
The regional superintendent said the plow truck driver suffered some bruising, while the two people taken to hospital were the driver and passenger of the half-ton truck.
At the scene of the accident on March 21, the plow truck was stopped in the northbound lane. A portion of the plow blade could be seen broken off closest to the shoulder of the road.
The half-ton truck was overturned in the snow just off the road.
Highway 1 was closed for several hours while the police conducted their on-site investigation.
Earl Blacklock, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said he would leave it to the RCMP to release the exact details of the accident.
"Both vehicles had slowed down before the final impact, but they did impact each other," he said.
In general, Blacklock said any time the department has equipment on the road it is concerned about the safety of both other drivers and the equipment operators.
"Our vehicles are larger. They're slower. They're operating in sometimes snowy conditions," he said. "We really emphasize the need to slow down when you see highway vehicles operating in either maintenance or construction because they are more at risk."
Blacklock said the Department of Transportation investigates every highway accident to see whether road conditions contributed in any way.
"So certainly the fact that there's a DoT vehicle involved, we will be quite thorough in our investigation," he said of the March 21 accident.
The highway was closed for about two hours over the course of the investigation, which was still underway March 22.
