Coquihalla Highway wrong-way crash kills driver near Merritt, B.C.

A driver who was going the wrong way on the Coquihalla Highway died in a crash Monday morning.

One person is dead after wrong-way crash on the Coquihalla Highway closed a section of the major route through the B.C. Interior.

Police were called to a report of a car travelling south in the northbound lanes near Comstock Road, south of Merritt, shortly after 8 a.m. Monday.

A few minutes later, police received a second call reporting the car had crashed head-on into a northbound van, the Merritt RCMP said in a news release.

First responders arrived on scene and the sole occupant of the car was pronounced dead.

The occupants of the van sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to hospital for treatment, according to police.

Witness reports indicate the car was speeding in the wrong direction prior to the crash, according to investigators.

Video from the scene posted to social media showed a red, compact car had collided with a large, white passenger van near a steep rock wall along the highway.

The northbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway remained closed between Hope and Merritt for much of the day as collision analysts examined the scene.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC information system said the highway reopened to traffic shortly after 3 p.m.

Anyone with dash-camera video or information related to the crash is asked to contact the Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262.