On Sunday, Dec. 28, at about 12:30 p.m., the RCMP Valemount detachment responded to a two-car motor vehicle accident on Highway 16 near Moose Lake.

The roads were icy and it was a head-on collision, but as Const. Ron George of the Valemount detachment cautioned, an official cause of the crash has not been released. Attending the scene was the coroner and Valemount Fire and Rescue, in addition to the RCMP.

The Fitzhugh arrived on scene at approximately 2:30 p.m. to find that the entire front end of the red Pontiac G6 car was strewn across the highway. The engine block rested in the ditch approximately 100 feet from the back half of the vehicle on the other side of the highway. Both adult occupants of the G6 were found “dead on the scene,” said George, of multiple traumas. Their names have not yet been released, but both people were residents of British Columbia and their bodies were transported to McBride.

The three adult occupants in the van survived the accident and were rushed to hospital in Jasper for treatment for serious injuries. At the time of printing, information regarding their conditions and identities was not available.

The crash reconstructionist had to come in from Prince George and did not arrive on scene until approximately 7:30 p.m. People stuck on the road were trying to make the best of the situation by passing out Turtle chocolates, but the later it got, the more the drivers became anxious as fuel was running low and some people had young children in their cars.

One lane of traffic was reopened at around 10:30 p.m. and work crews began flagging both east and west-bound traffic through the scene. Even though two people perished earlier in the day, some drivers were still in a rush and proceeded to unnecessarily pass on an icy and dark road.