Crash victims identified

UPDATE 3:20 P.M. SEPT 5

The BC Coroners Service has identified two Central Okanagan residents killed in a head-on collision Thursday morning on Highway 97 just south of Quesnel.

Dead are Brian Scott Knutson, aged 48, of Westbank and Alma Helen Wert, aged 70, of Kelowna.

Also killed was Shirley Wakefield, aged 73, of New Hazelton.

Mr. Knutson was the driver and sole occupant of a pickup truck which was heading northbound on Highway 97 about 7:10 a.m. Thursday.

Approximately 10 km South of Quesnel, near the intersection with Sales Road, the truck was involved in a head-on collision with a southbound SUV being driven by Ms. Wakefield and in which Ms. Wert was a passenger.

All three were deceased at the scene.

The BC Coroners Service and RCMP continue to investigate these deaths.

---

Two people from Kelowna are among three people killed in a head-on-collision on Highway 97 south of Quesnel.

Police at the scene say a northbound pick-up crossed the centre line near Sales Road about 7 a.m. Thursday. The pick-up collided head on with a southbound SUV.

A 48-year-old Kelowna man was behind the wheel of the pick-up, he did not have any passengers. He died at the scene along with a 70-year-old Kelowna woman, a passenger in the SUV.

A third woman, a 73-year-old Hazelton woman who was driving the SUV, also died in the crash.

Police says there was extensive fog in the area at the time of the crash. Visibility was limited.

RCMP are continuing to investigate, however, alcohol is not believed to be a factor.

The stretch of highway was closed for about six hours while police investigated the crash.

Names of the deceased have not yet been released.