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Kelowna  

One dead, one arrested for impaired operation, in side-by-side rollover on the Spion Kop trail network Saturday morning

1 arrested in rollover fatality

UPDATE: 5:07 p.m.

An early morning fatal utility terrain vehicle (UTV) crash is being investigated by the Lake Country RCMP after police arrived on the scene to find one person dead and another with minor injuries.

Officers were called to the area for a report of a UTV roll-over on Spion Kop Mountain in the area of Summit Trail on Saturday at 4:15 a.m.

RCMP said that when officers arrived on scene, they located the UTV and found that one of the passengers, a 34-year-old man, had succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The driver, who police said is also a 34-year-old man, was arrested at the scene for impaired operation causing death and he was transported to hospital by EHS with minor injuries.

The Lake Country Fire Department, BC Ambulance Service, Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR) and Kelowna RCMP Forensic Identification Services assisted with this investigation.

"Our thoughts are with the victim’s family at this difficult time," the RCMP said in their press release.

The investigation is ongoing and police said the driver is possibly facing charges related to his arrest.

The BC Coroners Service is conducting its own, parallel investigation into the death.

Due to the privacy of the deceased, neither the RCMP nor the Coroners Service has any more details to share at this time.


UPDATE: 1:10 p.m.

One person is dead and another is being treated at Kelowna General Hospital with injuries after a side-by-side rollover on the Spion Kop trail system early Saturday morning.

Duane Tresnich, search manager with Central Okanagan Search and Rescue, says the two people were riding in the same Polaris RZR sometime before 5 a.m. when the vehicle flipped.

One individual died at the scene, while the other suffered a head injury and was taken to KGH.

As a result, the Spion Kop trails were closed Saturday morning, as emergency crews removed the body and the vehicle from the scene. The trails are believed to have now been reopened.

Residents in the area reported a helicopter appeared to lift the side-by-side from the scene at around noon Saturday.


ORIGINAL: 11:25 a.m.

There are reports the trail network on Spion Kop in Lake Country is closed Saturday morning.

A witness told Castanet numerous emergency vehicles were seen in the area Saturday morning and no one is being allowed on the mountain, as access to the trails has been closed by RCMP.

Castanet will have more information as soon as it becomes available.



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