Police seek more info into deadly Coquihalla accident

The northbound lane of the Coquihalla Highway was closed for about 10 hours on Sunday following a multi-vehicle collision near Larson Hill, about 32 kilometres south of Merritt.

Police responded to the accident about 12:30 p.m.

The incident involved six vehicles and one pedestrian, a 35-year-old man from the Lower Mainland, who had stopped to render assistance at the initial collision and was struck and killed by another vehicle.

A 78 year old male with critical injuries was taken by air ambulance to Kamloops.

His injuries have since been downgraded to serious.

Two other people were transported to a local area hospital with minor injuries.

The cause of the collision is believed to be speed relative to road conditions and sudden changes in road conditions in shaded areas of the highway.

Central Interior Traffic Services (CITS) RCMP, the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service and the BC Coroners Service continue to investigate.

RCMP traffic services in Merritt is asking that anyone with information about this collision who has not already spoken with police contact Central Interior Traffic Services at 250-378-4262, quoting file 2018-644.