According to reports from Canadian news outlets, a semi truck plunged off a highway bridge into a lake in Sicamous, British Columbia, east of Kamloops.
Officials said Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, that the driver’s remains and the vehicle’s wreckage have both been recovered.
Sicamous RCMP said in a press release on Saturday that their original response time was around 6:45 a.m., and that it was believed that the driver was the only person in the rig.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson say they wish to share their condolences with the driver’s family and friends.
“It’s tragic, and our thoughts are with them right now,” Anderson said.
The driver has yet to be publicly identified.
The Bruhn Bridge, which runs along Highway 1, was closed in both directions for most of the day Saturday, according to reports. It was re-opened in the afternoon under controlled conditions with a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour, as reported by DriveBC.
“It’s a major transportation route,” Anderson said. “Our goods and service supplies go down [Highway] 1, so it’s imperative that we get that open and moving.”
The CSRD added that repairs will begin on the bridge on Monday, after the RCMP reported that the bridge deck sustained “significant damage.”
According to reports, before Saturday’s crash, there was a plan to replace the Bruhn Bridge, which is over 60 years old, with a new one that could support four lanes. The province’s project website states that construction is expected to start this fall.
Anderson told CBC News Sunday that she “doesn’t see any changes” to that plan due to the crash. But, she said, it’s still important to repair the current bridge since the new one is expected to take around three years to build.
“I think it’s still full steam ahead,” she said. “It’s a project that needs to move forward.”
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement to CBC News Sunday afternoon that its staff are still investigating the damage to the bridge and are currently unable to comment on whether this changes the scope and timeline of the project.
Tracy Hughes, the CSRD’s communications coordinator, told CBC News that the truck fell into the Mara Lake side of the bridge in an area locally known as the Sicamous Channel, where Mara Lake and Shuswap Lake meet.
The province’s Ministry of Environment continues to assess the impact of diesel spilled from the truck and work on clean-up measures Sunday, the CSRD said. It has also said that Interior Health was alerted about the spill, but there doesn’t appear to be a significant risk to the area’s drinking water supplies.
The truck’s cargo also doesn’t pose any public health hazard, according to the district.
The CSRD and Anderson also asked the public to continue avoiding the area Sunday.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation contributed to this report.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
