A Yukon man is in serious condition at a Calgary hospital after the truck he and his wife were travelling in collided with a stolen vehicle in southern Alberta on Nov. 12.
The crash also left a woman riding in the other vehicle with serious injuries.
According to an Alberta RCMP press release, RCMP officers, the fire department and EMS in Coaldale, Alta., about 11 kilometres east of Lethbridge, were called to the scene of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 845 just before 8 a.m.
The Yukoners, described as “an older couple” in their mid-70s, were travelling southeast on Highway 4 towards the U.S. border in a white Ford F-150 before the collision, the press release says.
When the couple reached the intersection, a black Chevrolet truck carrying two men and a woman in their 20s travelling north on Highway 845 “failed to proceed safely at the intersection,” the release continues. The Chevrolet crossed in front of the Yukoners’ Ford, resulting in the Ford “slamming” in the driver’s side box area of the Chevrolet, with the Chevrolet coming to a rest in the centre meridian.
The Yukon couple was taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital with minor injuries, but the man was later transported to a hospital in Calgary after his injuries “were determined to be more serious.”
The woman in the Chevrolet, who was sitting in a rear seat, was “quite injured,” the press release says, and was taken to Chinook Regional Hospital before being transported to a Calgary hospital via air ambulance with “serious head and internal injuries.”
The two men in the Chevrolet were also taken to Chinook Regional Hospital. According to the press release, they exited their truck “during the confusion of the collision.”
Police have not yet determined who was driving.
In an interview Nov. 13, Coaldale RCMP detachments Staff Sgt. Glenn Henry said that the men left the hospital before police could speak to them and that they’re currently being sought by investigators.
The press release says that police determined that the Chevrolet was stolen in Lethbridge. Henry said the truck was taken from a local business during a break-and-enter.
Henry also said that while the investigation is still in its early stages, police expect to lay charges against the driver of the Chevrolet in relation to the crash, and will likely be laying charges in relation to the theft of the truck.
Police have not released the identities of anyone involved in the collision, but are asking anyone who saw the crash and can identify the driver of the Chevrolet to contact Coaldale Rural RCMP at 403-329-5080 or Coaldale Municipal RCMP at 403-345-5552.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com