Seatbelt saved man who hit guardrail and rolled vehicle, police say

Alberta RCMP say a man's decision to wear a seatbelt saved his life after he hit a guardrail and rolled his vehicle overnight.

Police saythe man hit the guardrail when he veered off Highway 2at about 12:38 a.m. Tuesday.

The man had beendriving alone, heading north near the Highway 27 overpass toOlds, roughly 95 kilometres northof Calgary.

Although Olds RCMP are still investigating, Cpl. Courtney Harding issued a news release saying officers believe "speed and alcohol are contributing factors" to the crash.

Weather and the road conditions were favourable, Harding said.

The man was injured and taken to the nearby Olds Hospital and Care Centre. His seatbelt held him inside the vehicle, RCMP said, so he could get himself out before emergency personnel arrived.

When the vehicle left the highway, itpeeled themetal railing off the its posts, police say. The vehicle kept moving toward the wire barricade in the median, according to the release,and then rolled"numerous times, leaving debris."

The vehicle's engine came out, landing in the median between the two barricades.

The barricade itself landed across the northbound lanes, where it was hit by two other vehicles.

RCMPsay these collisions were "incidental,"resulting in property damagebut no injuries.

Last week, two people were killed in a single-vehicle collision in the same area.

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