FILE PHOTO

(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)

Two people are dead after a fatal collision on Highway 1 near Ashcroft last night.

The accident occurred around 7:25 p.m. on Monday, July 27. Ashcroft RCMP and first responders responded to the collision on Highway 1 near Basque Road, which is south of Ashcroft.

When police arrived on the scene they found a semi-truck off the highway engulfed in flames. According to a media release from the RCMP, nearby police found a Honda Civic with one occupant who showed no signs of life. Police called the Ashcroft Fire Department to prevent the fire from spreading.

According to Kyla Fraser, a fire information officer with B.C. Wildfire Service, the fire spread to 1.4 hectares of land and is now considered under control.

An investigation into the cause of the crash began once the scene was under control. Evidence showed the Honda Civic was travelling south on Highway 1 and failed to keep right, crossing the centre line and colliding head-on with the transport truck.

The occupant of the Honda Civic was a woman believed to be from the United States, according to the RCMP media release. The driver of the transport truck was trapped within the vehicle and could not escape, and died as a result.

Police are working with the transport truck company and the United States authorities to confirm the identities of the two people killed in the crash.

According to Drive BC, the road is closed for more than 36 kilometres from Spences Bridge to nine kilometres south of Cache Creek. Danielle Pope, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, says clean up crews are on scene and there is no estimated time of reopening.

“Highway 1 is closed in both directions due to a vehicle incident between Riverview Avenue and Cornwall Road,” Pope says. “Southbound traffic can detour onto Highway 97C and northbound traffic can detour onto Highway 8 at Spences Bridge.”

An investigation by the Central Interior Traffic Services in Merritt, RCMP Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, and the B.C. Coroners' Service continues. If you have information about this collision, call the Central Interior Traffic Services in Merritt at 250-378-4262.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Wheeler or call (250) 819-6089 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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