Dump truck, tractor-trailer drivers killed in Highway 75 crash

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This article was published 10/07/2017 (3051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two men are dead following a Monday morning collision south of St. Norbert involving a tractor-trailer and a semi-dump truck.

At roughly 7:40 a.m., RCMP from the St. Pierre-Jolys detachment responded to an incident at the intersection of Highway 75 and Provincial Road 247.

According to police, early investigation indicates a dump truck was travelling northbound on Highway 75 and attempted to turn westbound onto PR 247 (also known as Marchand Road) towards La Salle when it collided with a southbound semi-trailer on Highway 75.

The driver of the dump truck was ejected from his vehicle.

Emergency crews, including STARS air ambulance, were dispatched to the scene, some five kilometres south of St. Norbert. However, STARS spokesman Cam Heke said medical personnel “were no longer medically required” when they arrived at 7:57 a.m.

The driver of the dump truck — an 84-year-old man from Steinbach — and the driver of the semi-trailer — a 58-year-old man from East St. Paul — were pronounced dead at the scene.

Alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the collision and neither driver was wearing a seat belt, RCMP said.

The company that owns the dump truck, Westgate Enterprises Ltd., an excavating contractor based in Winnipeg, had no comment on the incident, said a woman who answered the phone at the company’s office Monday afternoon.

A man who answered the phone at the Winnipeg office of Perfanick (Bob) Trucking Inc. — the company name on the doors of the semi-trailer cab — also declined comment.

Monday afternoon, traffic remained rerouted on southbound Highway 75, police said, as emergency personnel were still on scene.

A forensic collision reconstructionist and criminal collision investigation team are assisting with the ongoing investigation, RCMP said.