Road closed 20 hours after tragedy

A 28-year-old Fort Nelson, B.C. man was killed Friday morning after the truck he was driving slid into the oncoming lane near Toad River and collided with a transport truck.

A 28-year-old Fort Nelson, B.C. man was killed Friday morning after the truck he was driving slid into the oncoming lane near Toad River and collided with a transport truck.

The man, whose name is not being released, died at the scene along the Alaska Highway five kilometres north of the small community.

Fort Nelson RCMP Const. Serge Bruneau said this morning icy road conditions similar to black ice were a major contributor to the tragedy.

“People do need to slow down under treacherous road conditions,” he said. “Winter is upon us, so people need to rethink their driving behaviour and adapt to the environment.”

The Fort Nelson man was travelling south in his 2009 blue Nissan pickup truck when he lost control while rounding a curve and slid into the path of the northbound Kenworth tractor-trailer unit at 10:30.

The highway was closed for almost 20 hours but was reopened briefly to one-lane traffic at midnight to allow for the passage of the 15 or 20 cars backed upon both sides of the collision scene.

Radio reports of the highway closure helped reduce the number of motorists along that stretch, Bruneau said.