CALGARY- A horrific freak accident on a B.C. highway has claimed the life of a Calgary mother.
On Friday, the 36-year-old was travelling with her husband and two young children near Canal Flats, which is 80 kilometres north of Cranbrook, en route to spend the day at the Fairmont Hot Springs.
But as they passed a semi-truck heading in the opposite direction, a large rock that was wedged in the dual wheels flew off the tire of a passing truck and went through the family’s windshield.
The boulder was about 30 centimeters and went through the passenger side of the family’s Subaru, hitting the mother in the head—narrowly missing an infant in the backseat.
“The impact the mom took…deflected the rock upwards, and it went behind the youngest child,” said S/Sgt. Marko Shehuvac of the RCMP. “Had it not been for that, that child would have been killed.
“In her last seconds of life, she saved her child.”
Her husband tried to drive his wife to the hospital, but realizing her injuries were severe he pulled over and called 911. The woman died a short time later.
Investigators say the semi driver did not even realize the accident happened, and was several kilometers away from the scene when officers stopped him.
“There’s a lot of debris that lays on the highway, and we do pick things up on the road,” said truck driver William McLeod, who was not connected to the incident. “A lot of the time when you go down grid roads it gets stuck in between the grooves in the tires, then you get on pavement and it eventually comes loose.”
No charges are being laid, but RCMP are urging truckers to inspect their rigs before hitting the highway.
With files from Jill Croteau
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