PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – A critically ill patient has been killed in the crash of an ambulance and a van south of Prince George, B.C.
RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass says the collision occurred just before 5:30 Thursday afternoon on Highway 97 in Hixon, about 60 kilometres outside Prince George.
The patient, being moved to Prince George from a hospital in Quesnel, died at the scene, but a doctor, nurse and two paramedics in the ambulance were not seriously hurt.
Five people in the van also walked away with minor injuries but the force of the collision sent the ambulance careening into a power pole and natural gas line, severing both.
That prompted the temporary evacuation of a nearby trailer park and closure of Highway 97, although residents were back in their homes within hours and single lane traffic was moving past the crash scene by early Friday morning.
A full-scale investigation of the collision is being led by the B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP, and Douglass says more details could be released Friday.
