Fatal motor vehicle incident on Highway 16

Prince Rupert

2023-02-01 12:55 PST

File # 23-667

 The Prince Rupert RCMP wants to inform the public about a fatal motor vehicle incident that occured yesterday on Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Terrace.

On January 31, 2023 at approximately 10am, the Prince Rupert RCMP received a call about vehicle tracks leading to the Skeena River near the Khyex River. While police was en-route, additional calls were received. One caller who had stopped reported he could see a vehicle had gone off the road into the river. This caller and his passenger, as well as the first member to arrive on scene, managed to pull the vehicle out of the water and extract the sole occupant, a 33-year-old woman.

Life saving techniques were performed by them until paramedics arrived on scene and took over. The woman was transported to the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital were life saving techniques continued for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, she did not survive.

As a result of the recovery operation and the investigation, the highway was closed to traffic in both directions for a few hours. It was later re-opened at approximately 2pm.

"The brave actions of the first people on scene, as well as the hard work from the paramedics, the firefighters and the medical personnel ensured that everything was done to attempt to save the young woman's life." said Cst. Gabriel Gravel, Media Relations Officer with the Prince Rupert RCMP. "We would like to remind the public to use extreme caution when driving in winter conditions. Make sure you have a reliable vehicle equipped with proper winter tires, pay attention to the road and don't go out if you are not comfortable with the conditions."

Nothing suspicious was found as a result of the investigation, and the cause of the incident was determined to be due to bad weather and road conditions at the time. The family has been notified and the Prince Rupert RCMP would like to extend their condolences.

Released by

Cst. Gabriel Gravel

Email: gabriel.gravel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Follow Us:

princerupertrcmp
bcrcmpnews

@bcrcmp

@bcrcmp