The capital region’s first icy blast delivered a sobering reminder to drivers yesterday, following countless injury collisions and the death of a small child.
The boy was one of four family members from central Alberta in a pickup truck travelling northbound on Highway 2, two kilometres south of the Millet overpass at about 9 a.m.
The driver lost control on the slippery highway, crossed the median and struck a cube van heading southbound.
The boy died at the scene and all the other family members were taken to the University Hospital. The mother and father are in serious but stable condition, while a one-year-old suffered a minor injury.
Nobody in the cube van was hurt.
“It certainly was a bad combination of the temperatures being right and, not a lot of snowfall, but it did stick to the highway and caused a lot of grief for commuters this morning,” Alberta Motor Association spokesman Terry Clovechok said. “People need to see the big picture and slow down out there.”