A medical emergency played a significant role in a single-vehicle accident near Vernon Thursday morning near Swan Lake.
Just after 10 a.m., a husband and wife believed to be from the Shuswap, and a friend were northbound on Highway 97 in a Buick vehicle when the husband began having a suspected heart attack.
His vehicle narrowly missed two others as it crossed the highway, went over the embankment between Elmwood Road and Meadowlark Road and ended up beside the railway tracks.
RELATED: Crash slows Highway 97 traffic into Vernon
“I was first on-scene and we worked on him for about 45 minutes doing CPR but we were unable to resuscitate the man,” said BX-Swan Lake Fire Department Chief Bill Wacey.
The B.C. Ambulance Service and RCMP were also dispatched to the site.
The woman and friend were not injured in the accident. The age and hometown of the man have not been confirmed.
No other details have been released.
Traffic was significantly backed up southbound on Highway 97 for some time, though traffic was re-routed around the scene via Pleasant Valley Road or Old Kamloops Road.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.