Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, January 7, 2008

FORT SMITH - A vehicle accident on Highway 5, about 60 kilometres west of Fort Smith, claimed the life of one man on Dec. 29.

According to Fort Smith RCMP Sgt. Grant Payne, a car heading towards Fort Smith and an empty fuel delivery truck heading west collided at about 8:30 a.m.

The driver of the car was killed.

The RCMP said the remains of the victim were sent to Edmonton by the NWT coroner's office for an autopsy and positive identification.

As of last week, the RCMP was releasing no information on the person believed to be the victim, including his home community.

NWT deputy coroner Cathy Menard said the remains were sent to Edmonton on Dec. 31, but identification had not taken place by Friday.

Menard said the remains were not visually identifiable because of a fire as a result of the accident.

"My understanding is it was just the car," she said of the fire.

Menard said X-rays and other information on the person believed to be the victim have been sent to Edmonton to assist in the identification process.

The fuel truck driver, a resident of Fort Smith, was not injured.

Payne said the highway was slippery at the time of the collision, but the cause of the accident has not yet been determined.

"It's still under investigation," he said. "We've got a traffic reconstructionist doing the investigation right now."

Highway 5 was closed for more than two hours as a result of the accident.