An RCMP officer is dead after his patrol car was involved in a two-vehicle crash south of Millet, about 54 kilometres south of Edmonton, yesterday morning.
Const. James Lundblad, a 71/2-year-member of the RCMP in Alberta, was killed when his patrol car was involved in a crash with a grain truck on Highway 2A around 10 a.m. while police were conducting a crackdown on speeders.
The 41-year-old Mountie was parked on the shoulder of the highway when a southbound “violator” passed his location As Lundblad attempted a U-turn to pursue the vehicle. A grain truck heading northbound slammed into his patrol car, said RCMP spokesman, Cpl. Wayne Oakes.
Lundblad, who grew up in the Valleyview area, was pronounced dead on scene and the driver of the grain truck was not injured, said police.
“He was well-liked and very well-respected by his colleagues,” said Oakes about the officer, who did live with an immediate family. “(This) was all in an effort to make our highways safer … and that’s what makes this death so absolutely tragic.”
