A horrifying crash on the Trans Canada Highway in British Columbia has left six people dead and two others injured.
Police
say it happened Sunday just before noon when a mini van carrying six
people crossed the highway’s centre line and smashed head-on into a
motorhome, about 20 kilometres east of Golden.
All six people in the van were pronounced dead at the scene, said RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
Their
identities were not released pending notification of next of kin and
Moskaluk said the RCMP Victim Assistance staff would continue to help
the affected families.
The two people in the motorhome were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
RCMP investigators from the Golden
Detachment, including two collision reconstructionist analysts, and
Trans Canada East Traffic Services responded to the accident.
Moskaluk
said speed and alcohol had already been ruled out as possible factors
in the collision and that the mini van would undergo an inspection to
verify its mechanical integrity.
In the statement he issued
Sunday, Moskaluk said investigators suspected that driver fatigue or
driver inattention may have been contributing factors.
He also noted that 4 of the 6 people in the van had not been wearing seatbelts.
“As
the 2010 August long weekend comes to a close with a mounting
accidental death toll, we implore that the motoring and holidaying
public please keep safety in mind,” stated Moskaluk.
