Two teenaged girls have been airlifted to hospital in Edmonton after a head-on collision on the Leedale Road, 26 km southwest of Rimbey.
STARS spokesman Cam Heke said helicopters from their Edmonton and Calgary bases were dispatched at about 9:40 a.m. on Monday to a collision scene on the Leedale Road at Range Road 4-20.
The Edmonton crew picked up a 14-year-old girl, assessed to be in critical condition en route to the University of Alberta Hospital.
A 16-year-old girl was taken to Rimbey hospital by ground ambulance and airlifted from there to the University of Alberta hospital by the Calgary crew, said Heke. She was assessed as serious overall, with injuries that have the potential to be life-threatening, he said.
Cpl. Wayne House from the Rocky Mountain House RCMP said the limited information he had available as of mid-afternoon on Monday indicated that a half-ton pickup collided with a one-ton truck on the Leedale Road. The two girls were travelling in the smaller pickup. The driver of the larger truck did not appear to have suffered any major injuries, said House.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the collision. Poor visibility due to heavy dust may have been a factor, given that the vehicles crashed on a dry gravel road, he said. RCMP have not yet determined whether any charges are to be laid.