Clearwater RCMP report that on Wednesday, Sept. 20, just before 1 p.m., police were notified of a single vehicle collision in which a pickup had rolled over on Highway 24 near the Taweel Forest Service road outside of Little Fort.
It was reported that a female passenger was injured and couldn’t get out of the vehicle.
Police, Highway Rescue, and Ambulance all responded to the crash.
The pickup had drifted off the road into the ditch and been significantly damaged and tossed about as the ditch opened up into a larger bank with large rocks strewn about it. The truck had not actually rolled, thankfully for the two occupants.
READ MORE: New highway rescue truck brings new capabilities
Airbags had deployed and the driver suffered what appeared to be minor injuries and was able to get out of the vehicle and up the bank on their own
The passenger required assistance from Highway Rescue to be brought out of the vehicle and up the bank.
Both the driver and passenger were then transported directly to Kamloops Royal Inland Hospital for treatment.
Police would like to thank the couple who stopped to give assistance to the occupants of the truck until emergency crews arrived.
Road rage
On Sept. 21 around 2:30 in the afternoon, police were notified of what could really only be described as a road rage incident.
The incident began when construction crews with their orange work lights activated were working on the side of the roadway.
They were getting cleaned up as they were just finishing a project when they saw a vehicle driving too fast toward them.
One of the workers tried to motion for the vehicle to slow down. The vehicle passed this worker, but then stopped, reversed back to where the worker was, and began to yell at the worker that they were doing the posted speed limit.
A bit of a yelling match ensued involving the construction worker, the driver, and the passenger.
It appeared, above all, that the driver and passenger needed a reminder of B.C.’s driving laws.
B.C.’s driving law reminder
For any who may not know or have forgotten; when a motorist encounters any vehicle stopped alongside the road that has flashing red, blue, or yellow lights; they must slow to 70 km/h when in an 80+ km/h speed zone, and to 40 km/h when in any speed zone under 80 km/h.
Where it is possible and safe, motorists are also required to move over when passing those vehicles. The fine for not doing so is $173 and three penalty points on their licenses.
For clarification, this includes traffic traveling the other direction (other side of road) on undivided roadways with two lanes. Vehicles traveling in the same direction must always slow down.
Vehicles bearing these lights include but are not limited to: police, fire, ambulance, highways maintenance crews, construction crews, tow trucks, and utility maintenance crews (Telus, BC Hydro) etc).
Impaired driving
During the evening hours of Sept. 23, police conducted a traffic stop in Blue River that resulted in a 90-day driving prohibition and 30-day mandatory vehicle impoundment.
The driver of the stopped vehicle had provided a sample of breath over 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.
For reference sake, there are three possible results from a roadside screening device: digital (0-50), warn, and fail. A fail result is given when the amount of alcohol is 100 or over, such as the above driver’s result.
This result carries the highest penalty for obvious reasons.
The penalty for refusing to provide a sample matches exactly the penalty for a fail result.
The bottom line is to never drink and drive – the danger of injury, or serious criminal or civil liability just isn’t worth it.