Vernon RCMP
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 18, 2013 - 8:37 AM
UPDATE: 3:42 p.m. July 18, 2013
The woman killed in a collision on Highway 97C near Enderby yesterday afternoon has been identified.
She was Peggy (Margaret) Irene Ann Armstrong, 49, of Enderby.
Next of kin have been notified.
8:32 a.m. July 18, 2013
TWO-YEAR-OLD PULLED FROM BURNING VAN, BUT RESCUERS UNABLE TO FREE FEMALE DRIVER
ENDERBY - A fiery car crash near Enderby has taken a life. Just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, a van crossed the centre line and collided head on with a semi-truck.
The RCMP's spokesperson, Gord Molendyk, says a witness driving behind saw it all. The northbound Chevy Astro van had been weaving on the road, dipping across the centre line before drifting fully into the southbound lane, the witness told police. A motorcycle had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the van.
"After passing the motorcyclist, the van continued in the lane where it collided head-on with a semi-truck pulling a trailer," Molendyk said.
The van spun several times before coming to a stop in the ditch and bursting into flames. Witnesses to the accident, including the motorcyclist, ran to the van and were able to remove a two-year-old boy from a car seat in the back of the van. He suffered minor injuries.
"They were unable to remove the driver before the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames," Molendyk said, adding the deceased was a 49-year-old Enderby woman, and the boy's grandmother.
Molendyk says the boy owes his life to the actions of the bystanders, as the van became fully engulfed in fire moments after he was pulled out.
The semi-truck and trailer came to a stop in the ditch and the 36-year-old male driver from Peachland was taken to hospital to be treated for broken wrists.
The RCMP and the B.C. Coroners service continue to investigate this file. The name of the van driver is expected to be released by the Coroner after all next of kin have been notified.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.
This story was updated at 3:01 p.m. to explain the relationship between the boy and deceased driver.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013