One person was airlifted and two others were driven to Kelowna General Hospital this morning after a two-vehicle accident on the road leading to Big White.
Three patients were treated at the scene of the accident that occurred this morning at about 10:30 a.m., when the vehicles collided on a slippery section of the road, near the Gem Lake chair.
Big White Fire Department, three ambulances, two RCMP vehicles and a helicopter all responded to the accident where crews were forced to extricate three people trapped in one of the vehicles that had slid down an embankment.
Crews built a landing pad for the air ambulance near the Gem Lake parking lot.
The injuries suffered are believed to be non-life threatening, according to Big White Fire Chief Jamie Svendsen, who said conditions were treacherous after freezing rain fell overnight.
“It was just really slippery,” he said. “It’s a really good reminder for people to just slow down and take the extra time to get here safely.”
The road to Big White was closed down for close to 40 minutes while crews treated four patients on the scene.
Svendsen said the vehicles were heading in different directions when the collision occurred with a side-impact that sent one vehicle down the embankment.
With the ski season just open, Svendsen says accidents on the road are a regular occurrence and usually are caused by the same thing.
“Eighty per cent of the accidents we respond to on that road are caused by speed and bad tires,” he said. “People are not slowing down and taking their time. People are passing others. It’s ridiculous sometimes.”
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