Multiple Okanagan Crashes

Poor road conditions have kept Princeton RCMP busy.

Nine car accidents since Monday are being blamed on winter weather and driver inexperience.

All of them took place between Monday and Tuesday morning, sending a number of people to hospital with minor injuries.

One accident took place west of Princeton on Highway #3, near Burr Road around 8:30 am on Monday, when a jeep flipped into the ditch. Two men were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

On Tuesday morning, a semi truck hauling a trailer went off the road a kilometer west of Princeton. The driver was not injured.

Constable Myrl Stus of Princeton RCMP says tires can make a world of difference.

“People need to remember to reduce their speeds during winter road conditions. Also, people need to check the tread on their tires. Proper tires can make the difference between getting safely to your destination and ending up in the ditch,” says Stus.

Meantime, it was a deadly weekend in the North Okanagan.

Three fatal crashes took place over the long weekend in three separate North Okanagan communities.

The first happened in Lumby on Friday afternoon around 3:30 pm when 48-year-old Donald Alan Gray of Lumby lost control of his vehicle and flipped down a hill.

The second crash happened just before 4 pm on Friday in Vernon when 60-year-old Michel Maurice Richoux veered off the road, and went through a fence and a ditch. RCMP believe the cause of this crash may be due to a medical condition.

The third fatal accident happened just before 5 am on Saturday on Highway 97 near Armstrong. A head on crash between a pickup truck and a semi resulted in the death of 19-year-old Joey Douglas Duerkson of Armstrong.