A South Okanagan man and his dog have died in a collision on Highway 5, north of Hope.
The highway opened to traffic late yesterday evening after a multi-vehicle collision that claimed the man and his dog’s life and injured several others, some seriously.
BC RCMP Police estimate that approximately 50 people were involved in this collision.
Five people were taken to hospital with significant injuries. However, only one remains in hospital with broken bones and is expected to recover.
Of the remaining people involved, injuries ranged from minor to non-life threatening or requiring no medical intervention.
Fraser Valley Traffic Services (FVTS) confirmed the incident began when a semi-truck stopped in the northbound lanes of Highway 5 in the S-curves, and was then hit by a pickup truck.
Many other drivers were caught unaware which lead to a cascading, chain-reaction collision involving at least two dozen vehicles, including passenger vehicles, semi trucks, and a bus.
A police car was also hit from behind by jack-knifed semi truck that was not able to stop, injuring a officer.
Investigators report that they have received a significant amount of dash camera video from several sources that will aid the investigation however, at this time, no criminal charges are anticipated.
