Two collisions create havoc

A collision between a semi-truck and a CP train delayed response to a deadly car crash in Yorkton December 8.

The train hit the truck at the crossing at Hwy 9 between Hamilton Road and King Street Monday afternoon. At more than two kilometres in length, the train blocked all the city intersections for more than an hour and a half creating traffic havoc in the city.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. while CP was exercising its protocol of walking the entire length of the train to ensure safety in continuing, a Ford Windstar van and a Dodge Ram truck collided in the intersection of Hwy 16 and York Road sending the van into the ditch.

First responders had to fight the traffic snarl to get to the second crash where firefighters used the jaws of life to extract three occupants from the van who were transported to Yorkton hospital.

One of the passengers of the van died while the other was transported to Regina and remains in critical condition. The van’s driver is in stable condition in Yorkton.

The driver of the truck was uninjured.

RCMP Cpl. Donald Dyker said the crash is still under investigation, but basically one of the drivers ran the stop sign into the path of the oncoming traffic. He said alcohol, road conditions and speed were not factors. No charges have been laid.

Fire chief Trevor Morrissey said the city is scheduling a meeting with CP Rail to discuss ways of expediting these kinds of situations to clear intersections faster.

The department has contingency plans, but had there been a major fire, bypassing the train would have cost them valuable time.