Latest fatal crash on Highway 5 has locals calling for provincial action

Local leaders are voicing their concerns to the provincialgovernment about a stretch of B.C. highway that has claimed at leasta dozen lives this year.

The section in question is about 50 kilometres ofHighway 5, located north of Kamloops, B.C., where police say afatalcollision happened this weekend.

According to local RCMP, two people died Saturdayafter a northbound SUV collided with a southbound semi-trailer near theunincorporated community of Little Fort, B.C., about 98 kilometresnorth of Kamloops.

One of the vehicles is believed to have crossed the centre line, although police would not specify which vehicle that was.RCMPconfirmed that both occupants ofthe SUV were killed.

Ward Stamer,mayor of the nearby District of Barriere, says heand other arealeadershave scheduled a meeting with the Ministry of Transportation nextweek totalk about safety needs on the treacherous stretch.

Stamer said the meeting will include Chief George Lampreauof the Simpcw First Nationand Clearwater MayorMerlin Blackwell, as well as the maintenance contractor for the highway in that area.

"We are certainly going to be looking at opportunities to hopefully increase our enforcement, particularly throughthe Christmas season when we have so many travellers travelling on our highways," said Stamer.

WATCH|Dashcam footage capturesa close call on Highway 5 in March 2023:

Truck narrowly avoids oncoming traffic after passing on double solid line

1 year ago

Duration 0:14

Dashcam footage captured a close call on Highway 5 near Barriere, B.C., when a truck driver passed on a double solid line, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. Local leaders are calling for more safety enforcement on this stretch of road following multiple fatalities.

Concerns have been mounting over this section of road for months.

In March,Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell called for moreRCMP officers to enforce traffic lawsalong Highway 5 and stressed the importance of having B.C. Highway Patrol officers stationed in Clearwater and Kamloops instead of having them dispatched from Kelowna or elsewhere.

That same month, Jim Nagel, a longtime driverwith Kamloops-based transportation company Arrow, said the lack of law enforcement along Highway 5 wasa major reason behind the deadly crashes.

"When I first started in this business in the late '70s and the early '80s, there were police everywhere you couldn't go anywhere without seeing a police car," Nagel said. "[Now] they're like ghosts they only show up when the crashes happen."

Stamersaid there had been a commitment from the ministry to increase enforcement along that stretch of road over the last couple of years and, when those efforts were being made, it helped.

"Unfortunately, we had thousands of tickets, but we also didn't see the same type of carnage that we are seeing again," said Stamer.

Stamer is worried enforcement efforts have waned and he wants the province to step it up againto help reduce aggressive driving and ensure people are driving according to road and weather conditions.

RCMP say there was heavy snowfall on the highway Saturday when the most recent fatal crash occurred.

The investigation into what causedthat collision is ongoing.

B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said in March he wasconcerned about the growing number of deadly vehicle crashes along thestretch of Highway 5 between Kamloops and Clearwater.

He has promised to look into additional safety measures, including stepped-up traffic enforcement, lowering speed limits and making dashcams mandatory on commercial vehicles.

Stamer saidthe meeting between local leaders and the province is scheduled forDec. 14.