RCMP – Kelowna Capital Information

BC EHS ambulance crews responded to a multiple vehicle accident on Highway 5 on Thursday, May 16, 2019. (@ megantcampbell / Twitter)

Salmon Arm Man dies in “chain reaction of collisions” on Coquihalla: RCMP

The two accidents near the Coldwater Interchange closed Highway 5 for hours

The man who died in the Coquihalla Highway accident Thursday was identified by police as a 47-year-old from Salmon Arm after stopping to offer assistance after the first of two accidents.

Merritt RCMP said Friday morning that several others were injured after collisions with multiple vehicles on Thursday evening in the northbound lane near the Coldwater Interchange south of Exit 290.

Police said the first incident happened after a small car crashed into a utility vehicle heading north just before 5:30 p.m. While the drivers and a roadside passenger exchanged information, police said two more vehicles were approaching the scene, creating a chain reaction of more collisions.

READ MORE: One person is dead, others were injured after a multiple vehicle accident on the Coquihalla Highway

Two of the people standing on the roadside were seriously injured and taken to hospital by ambulance. The 47-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said several other passengers were treated at the scene for their injuries.

The collisions closed the freeway for several hours in both directions before reopening around 1 a.m.

@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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