Central Okanagan

Here is the raw recording of an interview with Darby Taylor, he was one of the people who tried to rescue the woman stuck in her submerged Jeep in Wood Lake. Wayne Moore did the interview:

Photo: Adam Proskiw

Pulled from the lake

Photo: Adam Proskiw

Traffic backs-up on Hwy. 97 after the fatal accident.

Several passing motorists and members of the Lake Country RCMP made some heroic efforts to try and save the victim of a fatal crash Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, the driver could not be revived.

Just after 1 p.m., the Lake Country RCMP received a report that a vehicle had gone off the highway into Wood Lake near 14150 Highway 97 North.

Witnesses reported that a Jeep TJ had been northbound on the highway when it began to fishtail. The driver was unable to regain control of her vehicle before it left the roadway and became submerged in Wood Lake.

A group of passing motorists attempted to pull the vehicle from the water with use of ropes and chains attached to a commercial truck but the ropes snapped causing the Jeep to roll back into the icy water.

The chains were again attached to the vehicle as RCMP members arrived on scene. The vehicle was stabilized while two police officers entered the freezing water and made several unsuccessful attempts to extricate the driver.

With continued assistance from the motorists, police were finally able to remove the driver and transfer her to a waiting ambulance. The driver was rushed to hospital but could not be resuscitated.

The driver has been identified as a 58-year-old woman from Salmon Arm. Her name has been withheld pending the notification of her family.

Road conditions appear to have been a factor in the crash.

Central Okanagan Traffic Services members continue to assist the BC Coroner's Service in this investigation.