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Head-on crash claims lives of two men near Rimbey

RCMP say distracted driving may have played a factor in a head-on crash that claimed the lives of two men early Tuesday morning immediately outside Rimbey.
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RCMP say distracted driving may have played a factor in a head-on crash that claimed the lives of two men early Tuesday morning immediately outside Rimbey. Rimbey RCMP and ambulance and fire crews were dispatched to the scene of the two-vehicle collision on Hwy 20


RCMP say distracted driving may have played a factor in a head-on crash that claimed the lives of two men early Tuesday morning immediately outside Rimbey.

Rimbey RCMP and ambulance and fire crews were dispatched to the scene of the two-vehicle collision on Hwy 20, south of Rimbey, at about 5:30 a.m.

After the impact, one car stayed on the road, while a minivan rolled into the ditch and was found on its roof. The car was so heavily crumpled, it looked as though its front end had been completely shorn off. Parts of the car, including a passenger seat, were found on the road.

Firefighters were seen using the Jaws of Life to try to remove the person from the minivan a few metres away from the car.

Rimbey RCMP Sgt. Mark Groves, who was on scene through the morning, said that both a 30-year-old man driving the car and a 36-year-old man driving the minivan died at the scene.

Neither vehicle had passengers. Names of the victims are not being released at this time.

Groves said that the roads were all clear.

“Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor, but possibilities exist that it may have been a distracted driving incident,” said Groves. “It’s possible that one of the drivers was driving while distracted and went into the oncoming lane and struck the vehicle head on.”

An RCMP collision analyst was on scene.

“At this time, it looks like the minivan crossed over the centre line,” said Groves.

Northbound and southbound lanes of Hwy 20 between Township Road 422 and 50th Avenue Rimbey were shut down as a result of the collision and remained closed until about 10:30 a.m.

“However, traffic was detoured so traffic flow continued through the morning,” said Groves.

Groves said fortunately, fatal collisions are rare in such a rural area.

A fatal crash such as this really hits the community hard, he added.

Rimbey has a population of about 2,500 people.

ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com