The City of Yellowknife is investigating a two-vehicle accident on the Ingraham Trail, Tuesday when they slid off the highway after reportedly encountering fresh ice on the road.
The accident occurred about nine hours after city firefighters were called to a shed fire at Prelude Lake at 10:17 a.m.
One person was transported to the hospital with non-emergency injuries after the accident, Alison Harrower, a spokesperson for the City of Yellowknife, told Yellowknifer.
The accident took place near the 12 kilometre marker outside of Yellowknife.
A witness at the scene, who asked to remain anonymous, said icy conditions on the road caused a jeep and a Ford-350 pickup truck carrying a load of wood to slide into the ditch. He arrived at the accident shortly after the vehicles went off the road and says the driving conditions were treacherous as he approached.
There was one male occupant in the truck and a woman and a baby in the jeep, said the witness. The jeep was on its side while the truck remained upright, he said.
The witness said the ice appeared to be very fresh and believes the excess ice could have been caused by water discharging onto the road from a fire department tanker truck returning from the fire, which he also witnessed.
The Yellowknife fire department responded to the vehicle accident, Harrower stated in an email.
Asked about the cause of the accident, Harrower said it is under investigation.
The owner of DJ's Towing said a company driver witnessed the second vehicle sliding into the ditch after stopping to help the first driver.
“He was coming down the highway and saw the vehicle in the ditch. He stopped to see if they needed help to get out of the ditch, and then there was another vehicle accident (at the scene),” said Jennifer Eggenberger.
The employee wasn't available to comment, but Eggenberger said it was a jeep that the company towed back to the city.
The Office of the Fire Marshal, which is in charge of investigating the blaze hadn't responded to Yellowknifer inquiries by press time.
