Melita woman dead after highway collision

A 69-year-old woman died Monday after the SUV she was driving collided with a tractor-trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon.

Police responded to the crash shortly after 10 a.m. Investigators learned the SUV was traveling northbound near the Kemnay turnoff, when it attempted to cross the highway and an eastbound semi struck it, Manitoba RCMP said in a release.

The driver of the semi was uninjured, but the woman died of her injuries. Police said she was from Melita, which is located roughly 100 kilometres southwest of Brandon.

The highway’s eastbound lanes were closed for several hours while RCMP investigated the scene.