Good Samaritan who stopped to help driver killed in B.C. highway crash

Officers were called to the crash scene on April 2, 2026, in the westbound lanes of Highway 16, near the Wet’suwet’en village of Witset. (Source: Joshua Azizi)

Police say alcohol likely contributed to a crash that left one man dead and two others seriously injured near Smithers, B.C.

Officers were called to the crash scene just after 8:30 p.m. on April 2 in the westbound lanes of Highway 16, near the Wet’suwet’en village of Witset.

Investigators say a grey Dodge flatbed truck was stopped at the side of the highway due to a mechanical issue. The occupants of two other vehicles had stopped to help when a black Chevrolet Tahoe struck the parked flatbed pickup.

A 60-year-old man from Witset was killed in the crash and a 45-year-old man from Calgary was seriously injured. Police say both men were outside of their vehicles trying to help the truck driver at the time of the collision.

The Tahoe driver, a 42-year-old Witset man, was also seriously injured, according to a news release Tuesday from the B.C. Highway Patrol.

“Police suspect that alcohol is a factor,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin in a statement. “It’s important that we find witnesses and video to not only the collision itself, but to the behaviour of the driver of the black Chevrolet Tahoe in the hours before the collision.”

Anyone with information or images relevant to the investigation is asked to contact police.

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