Four people were ejected from their vehicle in an early morning crash Saturday, Nov. 5 which sent the occupants to hospital with serious injuries and killed one dog.

The single vehicle rollover occurred about 1:10 a.m. on Highway 3 east of Princeton, according to RCMP Sgt. Rob Hughes.

When emergency services arrived, they found one woman on the highway, pinned beneath the Ford SUV, a man lying on the highway behind the vehicle, and a third man lying 20 feet down an embankment.

The woman under the vehicle suffered head, spinal, chest, hip and back injuries. The man on the embankment was semi-conscious but had significant hip and leg injuries, and the man on the highway had injuries to his hip, leg and face. A fourth person received minor injuries, and all were transported to Penticton General Hospital.

All the victims are from Princeton, and are in their 40s and 50s.

Hughes said while the investigation is ongoing, road conditions including “black ice” are considered a factor.

The highway was closed for 3.5 hours. It was the worst of the numerous vehicle incidents that plagued local roads and highways from Thursday, Nov. 3, to Monday, Nov. 7.

Local RCMP were called for at least 19 incidents and highway closures in a matter of days.

“It’s unbelievable that nobody died with that many crashes,” said Hughes, “especially when you have ejections and rollovers.”

The weekend “absolutely taxed our police resources,” he said.

“And it’s everything. Princeton Fire Department is taxed, ambulances are taxed. There are only so many ambulances available. We are limited with road rescue crews for extractions. If road rescue is tied up in one place, we (don’t have back up).”

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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com