INNISFAIL – A female motorist was listed in serious condition after her vehicle collided with a pickup truck at a highway intersection on the west side of town.
Gary Leith, fire chief of Innisfail Fire Department, said the crash occurred shortly before 2:15 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the intersection of 42nd Street and Highway 54. He said there was a heavy snowfall at the time, which created poor visibility and challenging winter driving conditions.
Innisfail RCMP Cpl. Meghan Bell said a car driven on 42nd Street by a 54-year-old Calgary woman stopped at a stop sign at the intersection at Highway 54.
"She pulled out into the intersection and was struck by the westbound pickup truck and went down the embankment," said Bell.
The force of the impact caused the car to leave the road and skid about 50 metres down the embankment, said Leith.
“The guys were at an EMS call when this call came in,” said Leith, adding three units and 12 firefighters responded to the call and arrived at the scene within five minutes.
“(The call) came in as a motor vehicle collision with one person trapped.”
He said the driver of the pickup truck, who is from Lundbreck, was uninjured but the female in the car was unconscious, unresponsive and trapped when firefighters arrived at her damaged vehicle in the field.
“(Firefighters) forced the door open to allow access to her,” said Leith. “Based on her condition she was rapidly removed from her vehicle. She was unconscious all the way through.”
The injured woman was then transported to Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital by STARS air ambulance.
Leith said Highway 54 was closed to motor vehicle traffic for three hours.
Bell said no charges have yet been laid in connection to the crash and that Innisfail RCMP is still investigating.
