Three people were injured and one killed in two separate collisions near the construction zone on Hwy. 5 west of Humboldt on November 8.
Construction of the area of the highway which was flooded earlier this summer is going on day and night, which means gravel trucks are running on roads throughout the area 24-hours a day, and traffic is being backed up at that location at all times.
On Monday, the combination of construction and backed-up traffic contributed to two separate collisions, one of them fatal.
The most serious collision occurred just after 8 p.m. on November 8, when rain was falling in the region.
Two vehicles - an older model station wagon and a four-door sedan - were involved in a head-on collision just west of the construction zone, about 13 kilometres outside of Humboldt.
Early reports to RCMP stated that the station wagon was eastbound on Hwy. 5, and the sedan was westbound and attempting to pass a tractor trailer unit when the collision occurred.
The drivers - a 29-year-old female from Bruno in the station wagon and a 58-year-old man from the Saskatoon area - were both the only occupants of their vehicles.
RCMP, fire and ambulance crews from Humboldt arrived at the scene just minutes after the collision. Volunteer firefighters with the Humboldt Fire Department (HFD) were actually holding a practice session at the time, and so arrived very quickly on scene.
According to Fire Chief Norbert LeBlanc of the HFD, the impact of the crash left the two vehicles at least a quarter of a mile apart - the sedan to the west and the station wagon to the east.
The sedan ended up in a shallow slough on the south side of the road, with the driver sitting in about a metre of water, LeBlanc noted.
While standing in and fighting against the foul-smelling and ice-cold water around the sedan, firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel conducted an extensive extrication of the driver of the sedan.
"The water definitely complicates the extrication for EMS personnel who have to assess the patient prior to extrication," noted Derek Dagenais, paramedic with Humboldt and District Ambulance Service (HDAS).
Once that assessment was complete, firefighters used the Jaws of Life to pry open the door, and then to pry the dash away from the driver, in order to free him from the vehicle.
The station wagon also ended up in the south ditch, but not in any water, some distance away from the sedan.
Again, EMS and firefighters also had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the driver from the vehicle, due to the extreme damage caused to the vehicle by the impact of the crash.
"They hit hard... there was a lot of damage to the car," LeBlanc noted.
Again, they pried the dash away from the driver and eventually got her out of the vehicle. The extrication was tricky, LeBlanc stated, because the roof of the vehicle had caved in a bit from the impact.
The HFD has two sets of the Jaws of Life, LeBlanc noted, which was a lucky thing in this situation, with the two vehicles so far apart.
"It was somewhat treated as two different teams on two different scenes," noted Dagenais.
A number of bystanders were there to help where they could, LeBlanc noted, which was another good thing. They stopped to help before emergency crews arrived and even stayed afterwards to help with the rescues, even though it was a very dark and rainy night.
Once extricated, occupants of both vehicles were transported to hospital in Humboldt, then on to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon - one with serious injuries and one in critical condition.
The male driver succumbed to his injuries and died.
The female driver remained in hospital with unconfirmed injuries.
The highway was temporarily closed at this location while emergency crews dealt with the scene. Traffic was re-opened less than an hour after the collision.
This is a very dangerous part of the road right now, LeBlanc said, because there is so much traffic moving through the area. He urged drivers to have patience as they wait to be led through the construction zone and once they are through it.
Earlier that same day, emergency crews had been called to a collision just east of the construction zone.
At about 4:50 a.m., a semi hauling gravel for the construction of the highway was eastbound on Hwy. 5, followed by a Federated Co-op semi unit hauling food.
When the two trucks approached the Telegraph Road turn-off about five kilometres west of Humboldt, the gravel truck went to the side of the highway, then performed a U-turn right in front of the other truck.
The other truck was unable to avoid the gravel truck and the two collided.
Emergency crews from Humboldt were called to the scene. EMS from HDAS and firefighters from the HFD immobilized the driver of the gravel truck and removed him from the vehicle.
He was transported to Saskatoon with what is believed to be non-lifethreatening injuries.
The driver of the other truck was assessed by EMS at the scene and released.
A crew from Federated Co-op also attended the scene, in order to assess environmental concerns, as the fuel tank on their truck had been compromised by the crash.
Investigation into this crash is continuing. Any charges against the driver of the gravel truck are unknown at this time.
