Three from B.C. die in Sask. crash

Poor weather and limited visibility may be to blame for a head-on collision in Saskatchewan on Sunday that killed a man from the B.C. Interior and two teenage passengers and left four others in hospital.

A car driven by a 47-yearold man from Sorrento was westbound on Highway 7 about 120 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon when the driver tired to pass a westbound transport truck.

His vehicle, carrying four passengers, crashed headon with an eastbound SUV carrying two Saskatchewan men, aged 56 and 30, just after noon.

The car’s driver and a 19-year-old female passenger died at the scene. The other three passengers — a 42-year-old woman, a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl — along with the SUV’s occupants, were all taken to hospital in the nearby community of Rosetown before being transported to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. The 13-year-old girl died in hospital later in the evening.

While the extent of the other injuries was unknown, a police spokesman said only that they were “fairly seriously” injured, meriting transport to the larger city.

Police were still on scene investigating on Sunday evening. RCMP Const. Reid Doucette said it was raining at the time of the collision, leading them to believe weather and visibility were factors.

“It was raining at the time of the collision, causing the roadway to be wet,” Doucette said. “Visibility for the westbound car was restricted at the time of the collision from road spray kicked up from the transport truck.”