Motorists travelling along Highway 97 some 11 kilometres north of Clinton were blocked for about three-and-half hours due to a three-vehicle collision on July 26.
Clinton RCMP detachment commanding officer Cpl. Brandon Buliziuk says they responded to the motor vehicle incident (MVI) around 1:40 p.m. He adds there was a head-on collision between a sedan and a pickup truck and then the third vehicle struck the debris field
Buliziuk notes the drivers of the pickup truck and the third vehicle were treated at the scene for minor scratches and bruises and were sent on their way.
"The driver of the sedan was fairly entrapped, and upon being cut out by fire-rescue, he was airlifted from the scene to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. He was in serious but stable condition."
John Engelhart, who is the deputy fire chief for the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department, says they received the callout at 1:50 p.m. and responded with five members and a pumper.
He notes they got started on the extrication as soon as they arrived and used a lot of the jaws of life tools to get the male driver out of the vehicle.
"We had to remove the driver's door and the back door, and then we took out the centre post. He was banged up pretty good, but he was responsive and talking when we arrived.
"He had cuts, scrapes and bruises; that was just the visible stuff."
Engelhart says as soon as they started cutting, it didn't take very long to get the driver prepared for removal.
"We can't actually move the patient until the ambulance gets there, and they do their thing."
The firefighters were on scene for about three hours, the deputy fire chief adds.
Noting the MVI is currently under investigation, Cpl. Buliziuk says a traffic analyst attended the scene and they are working on the report.
"However, it is believed very heavy rainfall at the time may have played a significant role."