Two people are dead following a late afternoon vehicle collision on Highway 19, approximately 10 kilometres north of Campbell River.
The accident happened at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday Sept. 15, according to North Island Traffic Services RCMP.
Cst. Dave Dormuth said that a group of three vehicles with passengers from Washington State were traveling northbound on the highway.
A pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction crossed the centre line on a right-hand curve in the road, started to slide sideways, and collided with the middle vehicle in the group of three. Family members in the lead and rear vehicles witnessed the crash.
Dormuth said that emergency services pronounced two people dead at the scene. Two more people were transported to hospital in critical condition.
Dormuth also said that a local nurse who lives nearby was one of the first people on scene, and she provided first aid while waiting for emergency crews to arrive.
RCMP say that speed and alcohol are suspected factors in the crash.
Highway 19 was closed to traffic for several hours in both directions as investigators inspected the scene, and reopened just before 10 p.m. on Sunday evening.
More to come…
An air ambulance helicopter landing to evacuate victims of the crash. (viewer submitted)
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