Man dies after central Alberta ambulance crash

A Calgary man has died after the minivan he was driving crashed into an ambulance near Rocky Mountain House.

The ambulance was transporting an RCMP officer who was concerned he had come into contact with toxic chemicals in a drug lab he had been investigating.

The owners of a house in the hamlet of Alhambra, about 200 kilometres northwest of Calgary,had called police because they found a hidden room during renovations that had been used as a drug lab. The owners had no idea the room existed when they bought the house three years ago, said the RCMP.

After visiting the scene on Monday, the officer in his late 20s, from the Rocky Mountain House detachment was worried about the possibility that he was exposed to toxic chemicals.

An ambulance was taking him to the Rocky Mountain House Hospital on Monday afternoon when the minivan crashed into it on Highway 11, near secondary highway 752.

The ambulance driver, 29, suffered critical injuries and was taken by medical helicopter to a Calgary hospital.

The minivan driver, 48, also sustained major injuries and was taken by another medical aircraft to an Edmonton hospital, where he died, said police Tuesday. His family has requested that his name not be released.

The RCMP officer, who suffered minor injuries, was released from the Rocky Mountain House Hospital on Tuesday.

An emergency medical services attendant and a student who were also in the back of the ambulance were not hurt in the crash.

RCMP investigators said they believe alcohol played a role in the collision.