Police now say a woman was killed in a two-vehicle collision just outside of Castlegar last Friday.
The crash occurred at 9:45 Friday morning about six kilometres east of the Brilliant bridge.
Sgt. Chad Badry of West Kootenay Traffic Services says a 71-year-old woman from the South Slocan area was killed when her car hit a grocery truck heading eastbound.
“Our preliminary investigation has determined that it’s likely the Honda Accord crossed over the centre line, into the path of a tractor-trailer unit. He was unable to avoid the collision,” Badry told the Castlegar News.
The 47-year-old driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.
Both vehicles went over the edge of the road and tumbled down the embankment as a result of the collision, complicating the recovery.
“The location of the crash made the investigation and recovery difficult resulting in a lengthy highway closure,” a police news release stated.
The crash closed the highway, the main route between Castlegar and Nelson, for about six hours. Traffic had to be diverted to the Pass Creek road and over Highway 3’s Bombi Pass route.
The police and coroner investigation is continuing, says Badry.
DriveBC had previously issued a warning of compact snow and slippery sections on the highway near the dam earlier Friday.