The driver of a truck that collided with a jackknifed semi on Highway 3 last night is in critical condition in hospital.
The collision happened about 3 km west of Sparwood near the Olsen Overpass around 6 p.m. last night.
A semi travelling westbound jackknifed and collided with another semi travelling eastbound.
The driver of the eastbound semi suffered serious injuries and was flown to the Foothills hospital in Calgary. He is a man in his 60s from the lower mainland. The other driver was not hurt.
East Kootenay traffic services are now trying to piece together what caused the incident, but Sgt. Will Thien from the Elk Valley RCMP said the road conditions were poor at the time.
“The visibility was limited and there was blowing snow,” he said. “Also the road was quite icy.”
Highway 3 was closed both ways for several hours for investigation and later re-opened to single lane alternating traffic at around 9 p.m. It was not fully open until this morning.