DIDSBURY - A merciless Mother Nature wreaked havoc on area highways over the holidays.
Between Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 Didsbury RCMP responded to 46 collisions including 14 on Dec. 27 alone.
The numbers do not include any collisions not reported.
The majority of collisions occurred on Highway 2 between Carstairs and Didsbury.
Cpl. Resus Organ said that the weather conditions of extreme wind and black ice made driving the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Highway 2) a veritable nightmare on Dec. 27.
At certain times of the day there were trucks and cars strewn throughout the highway.
"At around the same time we had one rolloveróa white pickup truck northbound," said Organ. "He hit an icy patch, spun three or four times, hit the ditch, rolled two or three times. No injuries. That was at 7:30 a.m.
"At the same time a Nissan Murano spun a few times and hit the ditch and rolled a few times. No injuries as well. They happened about 50 feet apart."
At the same time and almost the exact same place, a semi-tractor trailer was driving northbound when the wind picked up the trailer and spun it all the way around his truck.
"His truck was still facing north and the rear end of the trailer was facing north," said Organ. "He hit the median. No injuries there. That was all around the same areaójust south of the Carstairs ramp. There was ice and wind blowing all over the road. Big winds and no one could see the black ice."
Organ said another driver was trying to avoid the ice and vehicles and drove into the ditch.
"The roads were just really bad," he said. "Anyone who hit that areaóthey were all going around 80 kilometres per houróthe wind picked up, their vehicles spun and slid and they lost control."
He added that there was another car stuck on the median abandoned from the night before.
"I checked that vehicle and it was a stolen truck out of Edmonton so we had it towed," said Organ.
There was also a four-car pileup south of Didsbury on Highway 2 reported at 8:52 a.m., which was attended to by the fire department since the RCMP were already tied up with other accidents.
"Even at that time there were four or five other vehicles in the ditch that weren't reported," he said.
Fortunately there were no fatalities or major injuries all day.
Organ said there were multiple groups helping assist Didsbury RCMP throughout the day including Heavy Towing, Res-Q Towing, fire departments from Didsbury, Carstairs and Crossfield, EMS and Airdrie RCMP.
