Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Highway 97
‘All of a sudden, a friggin’ moose comes out of nowhere and lands on the front of the truck’
KELOWNA - Doug Adams remembers the moose slamming into the hood, then sliding up the windshield, six inches from his face. The impact brought the one-ton diesel truck to an instant standstill. Adams, 56, of Vernon, was the passenger in a truck that collided with an estimated 800 pound moose last Friday, May 1, in...
Child escapes Vernon car crash with minor injuries
VERNON - Two people, one of them a nine-year-old, escaped with minor injuries after their car flipped onto its roof Monday. The accident happened just after 3 p.m. Monday, May 4, at Highway 97 and College Way in Vernon, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said in a release. “The investigation determined the vehicle had been travelling...
Driver gets ticket for nasty crash; highway traffic brought to standstill south of Vernon
VERNON - There were multiple injuries in a Sunday afternoon car accident on Highway 97 south of Vernon, which halted traffic for over two hours, but fortunately no fatalities. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the crash at Bailey Road and Highway 97, which had northbound traffic backed up almost to Oyama, was caused by an...
Speed trap season opens in the Central Okanagan
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - It's getting nice outside and with more drivers leaving their dens for the open road RCMP traffic enforcement operations are ramping up to catch those who drive faster than the posted speed limits. A few hours were spent on the new section of Highway 97 between Oyama and Winfield Sunday afternoon, March...
New HOV lane rules take effect; RCMP ready to enforce
KELOWNA – If the high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Kelowna rub you the wrong way, they will only be rubbing you the wrong way during the daytime on weekdays as of today, Jan. 19. Instead of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the HOV lanes are now only in effect between 7 a.m. and...
Get ready for new Kelowna HOV lane rules
KELOWNA - There are some new rules to follow if you're driving Highway 97 through Kelowna, starting January 19. The High Occupancy Vehicle lanes will transition to time-of-day operations. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday excluding holidays, the HOV lanes must be observed. At all other times, the lanes will be available...
Barricades planned for deadly stretch of Hwy 97
LAKE COUNTRY – A dangerous stretch of Highway 97 where a woman died following a head on collision Sunday is getting some attention from the Ministry of Transportation. “That incident over the weekend was terrible and our thoughts are with the friends and family of the people affected,” says Ministry spokesperson Murray Tekano. “It’s really...
B.C. Coroners Service identifies woman killed in Highway 97 crash
KELOWNA – The B.C. Coroners Service has identified the woman killed in a crash between a semi and an SUV on Highway 97 north of the Kelowna Airport Sunday afternoon. She was Frances Marie Strocher, 48, of Kelowna. Const. Kris Clark of the Kelowna RCMP says Strocher was driving a Volkswagen Tiguan and was the only...
UPDATE: Crash on Highway 97 claims a life
KELOWNA - The crash between a semi and a SUV on Highway 97 north of the Kelowna Airport Sunday afternoon claimed the life of the driver of the SUV. The highway was closed for three hours after the head-on crash around 2 p.m. 4 kilometres north of Airport Way, according to RCMP, causing a major...
Sneena Road overpass open to traffic
WEST KELOWNA – The Sneena Road overpass, which has slowed traffic on Highway 97 north of the William Bennett Bridge for close to a year, has finally been completed. The overpass is a $9.3 million dollar connection between Westbank First Nation lands on either side of the highway. In an official ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday,...
Crash on Highway 97 in Lake Country sends two to hospital
LAKE COUNTRY – Amazingly, no one was seriously injured in a two vehicle crash on the new section of Highway 97 in Lake Country Monday morning. RCMP Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says just before 7:30 a.m. the driver of a sedan rear-ended a SUV while both were travelling in the southbound slow lane north of Oyama....
Kelowna man crashes and dies near Kamloops
KELOWNA - A Kelowna man was killed when he crashed with a tractor-trailer just south of Duck Range Road near Kamloops Saturday. Jairo Alexis Vicioso David, 34, of Kelowna was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle when the accident happened at roughly 5 p.m. Nov. 28, according to an RCMP media release. David...
Government paves over safety feature because of ‘noise complaints’
OYAMA - The Ministry of Transportation is removing a safety feature on the new highway in Lake Country to spare nearby residents an associated rumbling sound. Rumble strips, the grooved edges found on most highways, were installed on the new $78-million section of Highway 97 through Oyama but it seems the feature had an unpleasant...
Summerland man hit by semi dies in hospital
SUMMERLAND – A 77-year-old man hit by a semi in downtown Summerland Monday morning has died from his injuries. The Summerland man was hit at the uncontrolled intersection at Highway 97 and Steuart Street and rushed to hospital. According to RCMP, he was crossing the highway on foot when he was hit by a southbound...
Safety measures sought for dangerous stretch of Highway 97
LAKE COUNTRY - In the aftermath of two fatal accidents, officials in Lake Country are calling for the addition of a concrete median between Beaver Lake Road and the Kelowna Airport. In July, an elderly couple and a 14-year-old passenger believed to be their grandson were fatally injured after crossing the centre line and colliding...
Attention drivers: Highway 97 construction set for this month
VERNON - Construction begins Tuesday night on a notoriously dangerous stretch of Highway 97, and that means drivers could see some delays. The Ministry of Transportation is adding $5 million worth of concrete median barriers to separate four lanes of traffic on 11 kilometres of highway between Vernon and Kelowna. The work begins Tuesday night...
UPDATE: Manitoba woman dies in crash on Highway 97; speed may be factor
KELOWNA – A head-on crash on Highway 97 north of the Kelowna Airport claimed the life of a Manitoba woman and closed the route in both directions for almost 5 hours on Saturday. Just before 8:30 a.m., emergency crews arrived on the scene to find a Dodge pick-up on it’s side and engulfed in flames,...
High speed a factor in Lake Country car crash
LAKE COUNTRY – A young Winnipeg woman lost control of her car on a sharp curve on the Pelmewash Parkway Saturday morning. RCMP say the woman, 20, was travelling at a high rate of speed north bound on the old highway around 8:30 a.m. when she reached the on ramp to Highway 97. “Witnesses say...
UPDATE: Head-on crash sends 4 to hospital
VERNON – The investigation continues into the cause of a head-on collision on Highway 97 south of Vernon near the landfill. A large SUV towing a camper trailer and an SUV crossover hit near Westridge Road around 6:00 a.m. Thursday. Four people were rushed to Vernon Jubilee Hospital with traumatic but non-life threatening injuries, according...
UPDATE: Highway 97 open after falling rock near Summerland
SUMMERLAND – Falling rock closed a portion of Highway 97 just north of Summerland Sunday and is responsible for injuring two people. The small slide closed the southbound lanes 2 kilometres north of the town at about 11:28 a.m. The highway reopened to single lane, alternating traffic about an hour later at 12:20 p.m. as...
Man in fatal traffic accident near Vernon identified
VERNON - The B.C. Corners Service has identified the man who died in a traffic accident June 4 on Highway 97 near Vernon. He was Brian Victor Dolman, 64, of Oyama. Dolman was the driver and only person inside the Subaru SUV when he veered out of the southbound lanes near the Birnie Road turnoff...