A Dec. 23 collision between two semi-trailer trucks on a stretch of Highway 18 near Hirsch left one of the drivers dead and sent the other to hospital with undetermined minor injuries.
And a Dec. 21 collision between a car and SUV on Highway 39, approximately 10 kilometres east of Estevan, sent seven people to hospital, some with serious injuries.
The Dec. 23 incident remains under investigation by the Estevan detachment of the RCMP. Police spokesman Sergeant Daryl Milo said alcohol was not believed to have been a factor.
The accident reconstruction team spent several hours on the scene, but Milo said some information has been released that indicates that visibility was obscured on this section of the highway at the time due to swirling snow and the presence of snowplow equipment nearby.
"It appears they may have met in a snow zone, creating a temporary loss of vision, meeting head on when one ended up crossing the dividing line," said Milo.
The unidentified deceased is a 45-year-old male believed to be an Alberta resident who had been residing in Redvers.
The driver of the other semi received minor injuries.
It took several hours to remove the wreckage and for the RCMP to complete their investigation which meant traffic had to be diverted.
The Dec. 21 collision was also a head-on event that involved a family of five travelling in an SUV heading east out of Estevan while an oncoming car, carrying two people was westbound, coming into Estevan on Highway 39.
Again, one of the vehicles crossed the highway dividing line into the path of the other.
The occupants of the two vehicles ranged in age from two years to 56 and all were taken to hospitals in Estevan and Regina suffering from injuries described as being from minor to very serious.
Milo said a Dec. 26 check on one of the most seriously injured passengers, a 12-year-old girl who was transferred to Regina, indicated she was now off the serious injury list but still in intensive care.
An update on the physical condition of the others was not readily available.
Alcohol may have been a contributing factor, but the RCMP said their investigation is continuing and charges are pending against the 16-year-old operator of the car.
