Bad weather blamed as three killed in central Alberta vehicle accidents

Bad weather appears to have been a factor in two separate collisions in Alberta Wednesday that killed three people, say RCMP.

A collision between two vehicles northwest ofRocky Mountain House Wednesday morning claimed the lives of a 35-year-old woman and a four-year-old boy from the O'Chiese First Nation.

Police say Highway 756 was slippery from freezing rain at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when the northbound car carryingthe pairwent out of control and collided with a truck near Rocky Mountain House.

The two men in the truck were taken to hospital with minor injuries, then released, police said.

No charges will be laid, RCMP said. The names of the deceased will not be released.

Soon after that accident, the driver of a pickup truck died and a grain truck driver was injured when their vehicles collided on Highway 2A in the Olds-Didsbury region.

Investigators believe the grain truck went out of control at a time when there was fog and ice.

Environment Canada had issued a fog advisory Wednesday morning for a number of areas in southern and central Alberta. The agency had said visibility was down to zero in some spots.

With files from The Canadian Press