Although summer is winding down, there are still numerous highway construction projects taking place and drivers can not afford to disobey the orange zone road signs.
The month of August has been riddled with major collisions in construction zones, located just west of Saskatchewan near Cereal, AB, claiming the lives of four people and leaving multiple injured.
The first of two fatal collisions happened on August 7 on Highway 9 near Range Road 60. The initial investigation indicated a semi trailer unit was stopped for construction and an SUV that was stopped behind it was brutally struck by another semi trailer unit travelling in the same direction towards the construction zone.
The collision claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the SUV. The four other occupants, including two children, were transported to the hospital, with the last report from the Oyen RCMP stating the driver of the SUV was released, while the other three passengers remained in serious condition.
The drivers of the semi’s were reported to have received no injuries from the accident.
Thirteen days later, another fatal and fiery motor vehicle collision was experienced on the same stretch of highway, less than 15 kilometres from the August 7 construction-zone collision.
On August 20, Oyen RCMP responded to a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 9 at Range Road 72, resulting in the highway being closed for over 24 hours.
Although this incident is still under investigation, preliminary reports from the RCMP confirmed 10 vehicles were involved in the collision, seven passenger vehicles and three semi truck units.
Two of the semi’s involved were transporting highly flammable material. One semi was hauling fuel, which caught fire, causing several other vehicles to catch fire as well, while a second semi was hauling butane. The initial collision took place at approximately 3:30 pm and RCMP reported at shorty after 8:00 pm, the fire was contained.
At the time of the latest report made by Oyen RCMP, the August 20 collision claimed the lives of three individuals, with 2 others in critical condition and eight others who were treated on the scene or at nearby hospitals.
RCMP recently told West Central Online, this matter will continue to be under investigation for a week or more as they work to determine the cause of the multi-vehicle collision.
Despite the high number of fatalities in a matter of weeks concentrated to one construction zone, drivers continue to disregard the rules and road signs, putting themselves and others at extreme risk.
A video has recently gone viral as it captures footage of a semi trailer unit attempting to pass in a construction zone, on the same stretch of highway as the above incidents. The video shows a semi trailer unit passing a vehicle in a construction zone, narrowly missing a head-on collision with a passenger vehicle that was travelling in the opposite direction.
SGI and law enforcement focused their attention specifically on orange zones, or construction zones, during the month of July, in hopes of reducing the amount of collisions like the ones experienced just down the road from Kindersley.
During the month, officers issued the following:
• 04 tickets were issued for exceeding 60 km/h when passing highway workers or occupied highway equipment within a work zone.
• 32 tickets were issued for exceeding 60 km/h when passing a highway worker or flag person.
• One ticket for exceeding 60 km/h when passing occupied highway equipment,
• One ticket for exceeding 60 km/h when passing highway equipment with warning lights in operation.
SGI and RCMP state, if the loss of life is not motivation enough to slow down and obey construction signs, they remind drivers that being clocked at 40 km/hr over the posted speed limit in a construction zone will cost $1008 and four demerits.
Tue, May 14, 7:00 PM
