Coquihalla concerns

Photo: Hope Search and Rescue

In the aftermath of Sunday's massive pile-up on the Coquihalla, drivers, professional and otherwise, are looking for answers.

Should the highway have been shut down earlier in the day? Are drivers adjusting to weather conditions? Should drivers slow down?

The RCMP tells Castanet they don't decide when highways should be closed.

Andy Warren is a professional truck driver based out of Kelowna. He says he almost died three years ago in a crash outside of Revelstoke.

"It's the road maintenance companies not gritting the road when they should," he said. 

Warren says Sunday's incident could have been avoided or at least minimized had the road been sanded.

"In my opinion it was people driving too fast for the conditions, not paying attention to the road conditions and following too closely," he said. 

Six vehicles were involved in Sunday's crash, including a Greyhound bus, north of Hope on Sunday that sent dozens of people to hospital and shut the Coquihalla down for 12 hours.

Both RCMP and Warren tell Castanet this is the worst winter for weather driving conditions they have seen in years.