ENTERPRISE - An Alberta man was killed on Dec. 8 when two transport trucks collided north of Enterprise.

Highway 1 was closed for hours on Dec. 8 while police investigated a two-truck collision about 20 km north of Enterprise. One man died in the truck off the edge of the highway. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The deceased has been identified by police as Walter Fabbro, 45, of Edmonton.

The accident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Highway 1 near McNally Creek, 20 km north of Enterprise.

According to the RCMP, Fabbro was in the bunk of a Manitoulin Transport truck while another Alberta driver was at the wheel at the time of the accident.

They were heading north carrying groceries from Edmonton to Fort Simpson.

The RCMP said the accident is still under investigation, but weather was a contributing factor.

"It was absolutely weather-related," said Const. Jack Keefe, the lead investigator with the Hay River RCMP detachment. "Road conditions were very poor and there was blowing snow and, of course, whiteout conditions with the trucks."

Keefe said the highway was covered by snow and ice, and was slippery.

"You couldn't see the line on the highway," he added.

Two men were injured in the accident and taken to hospital in Hay River for treatment.

The driver of the southbound vehicle was seriously injured and later medevaced to Edmonton. The Yellowknife man drives for RTL Robinson Enterprises Ltd.

After the accident, the trucks were about 150 metres apart with a debris field covering the highway in between.

The northbound truck was off the highway and upright, although its cab was crushed and part of the side of its trailer had been peeled back.

The southbound tanker truck was also upright, but the left side of its cab was crushed by the impact of the collision.

Keefe said the accident wasn't a head-on crash in the vehicles didn't hit evenly in the front. "I would say the driver's side of both vehicles collided."

The accident closed the highway until about 1 a.m. on Dec. 9 while police investigated, including a collision reconstruction team from Yellowknife.

Another truck driver with RTL Robinson Enterprises was following about one kilometre behind the company's driver involved in the accident. They had left Yellowknife together in empty tanker trucks and were headed to Hay River.

The driver, who did not wish to be named, did not actually see the accident occur, but believes snow kicked up by highway traffic was a major factor.

There is a bit of a dip on the highway and trees on both sides of the road at the accident scene, he said.

"So when a truck or a car goes through, the dust will linger longer," he explained, adding the dust – meaning snow – will blind drivers for a few seconds.

"It's always a challenge to know where the centre of the road is and a person has to be defensive, and, on a day like today, you have to be more defensive," he said at the accident scene.

When he came upon the accident, it was so slippery he couldn't stop. Instead, he drove through the debris field and stopped on the other side.

The driver said he comforted and reassured his injured friend until emergency personnel arrived.

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