Two people, two horses die in highway crash in southeast B.C.

CRESTON, B.C. – Police say two people and two horses are dead after a highway crash in the southeastern British Columbia community of Moyie.

RCMP from the Creston detachment say a tractor trailer was westbound on the highway at about 9 a.m. on Saturday when it hit black ice and jackknifed.

They say the truck careened into the oncoming lane where it collided head-on with an eastbound pickup truck that was hauling a horse trailer.

Police say the tractor trailer driver, a 59-year-old Edmonton man, was ejected from the truck and died at the scene.

They say the pickup driver, a 51-year-old Cranbrook, B.C., man was trapped in his vehicle and also died at the scene, as did both horses in the trailer.

A female passenger in the pickup was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, then later transported by air ambulance to a larger area hospital.

Investigators say they believe icy roads, driving too fast for the road conditions, and the fact the tractor trailer driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt all contributed to the fatalities.