(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA – An Alberta tourist is dead and a Kelowna man facing charges of impaired driving after a motorcyclist hit a deer in Joe Rich Thursday night.

The 35-year-old man from Alberta was riding a motorcycle on Highway 33 at Falcon Road July 7 at around 10:15 p.m. when he collided with a deer, according to a media release from RCMP.

“Preliminary findings at the scene have determined an eastbound blue Honda motorcycle struck a deer which caused it to cross over into the oncoming lane where it collided with a westbound black Nissan sedan,” Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the Nissan sedan, a 31-year-old man from Kelowna, was uninjured.

“During the investigator’s interaction with the driver of the Nissan, at the collision scene, signs and symptoms of possible alcohol intoxication were detected,” O’Donaghey says. “As a result a demand was made of the driver who provided samples of his breath into a roadside device which resulted in a fail.”

The driver was arrested and taken to the Kelowna RCMP Detachment for additional testing where he provided breath samples in excess of the legal limit. He was released from police custody but faces potential charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

That portion of Highway 33 was closed for several hours and traffic was diverted while an RCMP collision reconstructionist conducted a detailed analysis of the crash scene. Both vehicles were seized by investigators.

RCMP Central Okanagan Traffic Service, the Kelowna RCMP Municipal Traffic Section and Integrated Collision Analyst and Reconstructionist Services continue to assist the B.C. Coroners Service in the investigation.

If you witnessed this crash and have not yet spoken to police you are asked to contact the RCMP Central Okanagan Traffic Services at 250-980-5353.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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