A tractor-trailer unit carrying a load of crushed cars ended up resembling its cargo, when it left the highway and rolled into the ditch north of Slave Lake on Highway 88.
The incident occurred sometime in the early evening of September 22, when the southbound tractor-trailer unit caught a soft portion of the shoulder about 24 kilometres north of Slave Lake. The rig was pulled off the road and traveled about 100 metres through the ditch before rolling, then coming to a stop, upside down. The cab appeared to be crushed almost flat, leading to speculation that the driver probably didn’t make it out alive. But that was not the case.
An RCMP officer from Red Earth Creek happened to be one of the first on the scene.
“I was on my way back to Red Earth. A trucker flashed his lights at me, and my first thought was ‘there’s deer on the road,’” said Constable Campbell of the Red Earth Creek detachment. “Within a couple kilometers, I could see the lights of other vehicles that had pulled over to help.”
The officer began directing traffic, and was soon joined by fire and EMS crews. After securing the scene, the Red Earth Creek officer continued on her way home. Constable Chris Whattam of the Slave Lake detachment provided more details.
“RCMP, fire and EMS crews all attended,” said Whattam in a police news release. “The 48-year-old driver from Edmonton was taken to the Slave Lake hospital and treated for minor bumps and scrapes. Slave Lake RCMP with the assistance of the Red Earth Creek member, blocked off Highway 88 for approximately 20 minutes while fire crews cleaned up the spilled diesel fuel.”
When The Leader visited the site of the accident, the truck was still upside down in the ditch, and a few of the crushed cars it was hauling trailed behind it. Conservation officers were on site, but were unable to provide any details.
“It’s starting to become ridiculous, the amount of accidents on this highway,” said one of the officers.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and police report that alcohol or drugs were not a factor.

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