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SUV drives off 100 foot cliff at B.C. Alberta border

An SUV drove off Hwy 3 last night near Summit Lake, plummeting down a 100-foot embankment. The driver suffered minor injuries.
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An SUV drove off Hwy 3 last night near Summit Lake

Around 5:15 p.m. on March 1, a single vehicle heading westbound on Hwy 3 just past Summit Lake, drove off the road to the left, plummeting down a 100-foot embankment into the treeline.

A single female occupant required assistance evacuating the vehicle in which she was trapped, due to the nature of the terrain. During this time Highway 3 was closed for almost one hour.

Emergency crews had to use heavy equipment, including the Jaws of Life to extract the driver from the overturned vehicle. She was then placed on a stretcher and hoisted up the cliff side.

She suffered minor injuries and was transported to Blairmore hospital for precautionary medical treatment.

Alberta and B.C. First responders attended the scene, as the provincial border runs through the Summit Lake area.

All information gathered by RCMP at this time indicates the driver encountered a medical situation that caused the driver to drive off the edge. RCMP are speculating the driver may have blacked out, but cannot be certain.

“(The accident) was due to a medical situation, and we don’t have any information to suggest otherwise,” said Elk Valley RCMP Sergeant, Will Thien.

A witness who called in later on said the driver was not driving erratically, but suddenly veered off the road.

“I think the occupant... does have a medical condition, it just wasn’t expected that day,” said Thien.

Although there was snow on the sides of the road, the highway was bare and therefore road conditions have been ruled out.

The vehicle was left overnight and was to be recovered some time the next day, as it was getting dark.