Fatal accident near Merritt

Photo: Contributed

A man is dead a woman was sent to hospital following a single-vehicle accident on the Coquihalla near Merritt Monday.

At approximately 745 a.m. Merritt RCMP and BC Ambulance responded to the report of a single-vehicle collision on the Coquihalla Highway four kilometers south of Merritt.

RCMP said a north-bound pickup truck with two occupants, a female driver and a male passenger, left the roadway and entered the north bound ditch.

The 38-year-old male passenger was ejected from the vehicle, transported to Nicola Valley Health Centre where he succumbed to his injuries.

The24-year-old female driver was transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non life-threatening injuries.

“It is unknown at this time why the pickup truck went off the highway,” said Sgt. Mike Pears. “The evidence located at the scene is consistent with other collision scenes where the driver is not paying attention to the task of driving a motor vehicle.”

The man and woman are residents of the Lower Mainland.

RCMP and the BC Coroners Service continue to investigate the cause of this collision.