PENHOLD - A Ponoka man is dead following a two-vehicle early morning crash at a highway intersection in Penhold last Friday.
At about 1:30 a.m. on March 3 Innisfail RCMP and emergency rescue crews from the Penhold Fire Department were dispatched to a collision at the intersection of highways 2A and 42, said Innisfail RCMP Cpl. Jason Simpson.
He said a van travelling westbound on Highway 42 failed to stop at the posted sign and t-boned a northbound car on Highway 2A. Both occupants of the car, who were from Springbrook, sustained minor injuries. EMS treated and released one patient while a family member took the other to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. The lone male in the van, a resident of Ponoka, was deceased at the scene, said RCMP.
Jim Pendergast, chief of the Penhold Fire Department, said six fire vehicles and 20 firefighters responded to the scene. He said two victims from the car were assessed and treated by firefighters until they could be examined by EMS. He added the entire intersection was covered in debris when police and firefighters arrived.
"The van was on its side blocking the intersection completely (and) the car was in the ditch north of the Fas Gas," said Pendergast, adding firefighters had to extricate the driver from the van. "It was a difficult extrication, very challenging, but the firefighters just did an awesome job of it. The person that died was deceased at the scene."
Pendergast said both highways were shut down in all four directions until about 6 a.m.
Innisfail RCMP said a traffic analyst continues to investigate the deadly collision. Simpson said alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash but the non-use of a seatbelt may have played a role in the fatality.
Innisfail RCMP said last week names of the deceased and victims were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Jim Pendergast, chief of the Penhold Fire Department
"The van was on its side blocking the intersection completely (and) the car was in the ditch north of the Fas Gas."
