RCMP have charged the driver of a semi trailer truck that crashed after allegedly failing to stop at the intersection of Highway 27 and Highway 22 east of Sundre on Aug. 24.
Sundre RCMP Cpl. Joe Mandel, acting detachment commander, says the adult male driver from Calgary has been charged with Careless Driving under the Traffic Safety Act.
The driver, who police have not named, received bruising and minor cuts in the mishap. There were no other vehicles involved and no other reported injuries.
Mandel said it was lucky that the crash didn’t have a much more serious outcome.
“It had the potential to be very, very serious,” he said.
Following the crash the driver told police that, “he wasn’t paying attention” at the time of the incident, he said.
“He wasn’t paying attention and realized all of a sudden that the stop sign was there. That’s why he got (charged with) careless driving. As a professional driver he should be paying attention.”
Sundre fire Chief Marty Butts said the crash had the potential to be much worse.
“It could have been another Humboldt Broncos because he (the driver) ran the stop sign. It’s scary stuff when you think what could have happened,” said Butts.
The intersection of highways 27 and 22 east of Sundre is one of the busiest in Mountain View County.
Sixteen people died and 13 others were injured in the April 6 Humboldt Broncos bus-truck crash in Saskatchewan.
A 29-year-old man faces 29 charges in that case.
