The Labour Day long weekend saw a steep jump in fatal collisions over last year, but overall, injuries were down. Between September 2-5, 2016, two people died and 49 people were hurt on Alberta highways. That jumped to eight deaths from September 1-4, 2017 with only 18 injuries reported.
In the Grande Prairie area, a 29 year old Drayton Valley man was killed in a crash on Highway 43 just before midnight on September 3rd. Emergency services had been responding to a vehicle fire in the area, and the man’s pickup truck hit another vehicle stopped in the line of traffic.
There were six motorcyclists hurt in crashes in 2016 and four in 2017, but one crash killed a biker this year. Four people were injured in off-road collisions both years, and one person died in 2016.
RCMP say 46 people have been charged with impaired driving stemming from the long weekend, with 27 investigations still open. Last year’s holiday led to 90 impaired driving charges.
