Motorcyclist airlifted after head-on collision in South Okanagan

PENTICTON – A serious head-on collision between a motorcycle and an SUV pulling a camper shut down Highway 3A at Yellow Lake between Kaleden and Keremeos for several hours yesterday.

Meagan Severn was heading towards Penticton around 4:45 p.m. yesterday, Aug 16, with her cousin who was driving the SUV.

As they rounded the sharp corner at the northeast end of Yellow Lake, they collided head on with a motorcyclist who she says crossed the centre line into their lane.

"He rounded the corner and couldn’t stay in his lane. He hit us, literally, dead-on. We looked him right in the eye as he hit our windshield. It was awful,” she said.

Severn said the motorcyclist was thrown over their vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee with a camper, landing about 30 feet away.

She said the motorcyclist was almost immediately attended to by a nurse who was cycling Highway 3A to Penticton. She said the man appeared to have suffered some major injuries, was breathing but unconscious.

Kaleden Fire Chief Denis Gaudry said members assisted B.C. Ambulance personnel and performed traffic control duties at the scene. He said the multiple emergency crews worked well together to aid the victim, find a safe landing area for the helicopter that flew the victim to hospital and ensure safe traffic flow.

Keremeos Fire Department was also called in to assist in the incident, which was also attended by RCMP.

The extent of the motorcyclist’s injuries are unknown, but believed to be serious.

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