CALGARY -- A 62-year-old man from Edmonton is dead after the semi he was driving crashed into the back of a tow truck on the QEII Highway Wednesday night.
A section of the QEII was closed for several hours following a fiery late-night crash south of Red Deer.
Emergency crews were called to the southbound lanes of the highway at approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday after a semi crashed into the back of a tow truck that had stopped at the side of the highway to load a vehicle.
The semi burst into flames following the collision. The driver was not able to exit the burning vehicle and died on scene. RCMP confirm the deceased as a 62-year-old man from Edmonton.
Prior to the collision, the tow truck driver had stopped to assist the driver of a disabled vehicle. The tow truck was significantly damaged in the crash but the tow truck driver and the driver of the disabled vehicle were not injured.
The southbound lanes of the highway were closed between the Highway 42 and Highway 590 overpasses and traffic was detoured to highway 2A through Penhold for several hours. A single lane of the highway reopened shortly before 5 a.m. and the remaining lanes reopened early Thursday afternoon.
The investigation into the collision is ongoing.
