The stretch of highway between Squamish and Whistler has claimed another life.
An international student, riding as a passenger, died in a multi-vehicle accident near the Big Orange Bridge, on Friday evening (Feb. 23).
The student was killed when the driver of the southbound Toyota Matrix carrying the out of town student lost control and drove into oncoming traffic at about 4 p.m., according to Cst. Mike Halskov of BC RCMP Traffic Services.
The driver may have been going faster than the conditions would have required, Halskov suggested.
“It is winter in B.C., and you have really got to make sure that you know what you are doing when you drive in those conditions,” he said.
The accident involved at least three vehicles, he said.
One other person was airlifted to hospital in the Lower Mainland with concerns about head and possibile spinal injuries.
The road conditions at the time were severe.
“The road was covered with snow and icy patches,” Halskov said.
Highway 99 was closed in both directions for approximately five hours.
Sea to Sky Traffic Services and Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (ICARS) is handling the ongoing investigation into the crash.
This is at least the fourth fatality on the stretch of Highway 99 between Squamish and Whistler this year.
Two Squamish men died in a crash near the Alice Lake turn off on Jan. 2.
A local young man was hit and killed while he was walking on the highway near Finch Drive early Feb. 3.
