COCHRANE— Cochrane RCMP responded to reports of a single-vehicle accident resulting in a vehicle fire that sent five teens to hospital on Wednesday (Feb. 24).
At approximately 12:30 p.m. emergency services responded to the call for aid roughly 1.5 kilometres east of Ranche Road, near Cochrane High School.
The call prompted responses from Cochrane RCMP, fire and EMS.
Cpl. Susan Richter said information on how the vehicle caught on fire was limited, but noted the blaze was not the cause of the injuries sustained by the five teens in the vehicle.
“I don’t have much information on the fire. It was in our initial dispatch information, that the vehicle caught fire after the fact. I do know that all five occupants of the vehicle made it out safely,” she said. “All five were taken to various area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.”
Richter noted the cause of the accident has not been determined yet, and the investigation is still underway.
“We are still investigating the cause of the condition. At this time, I believe, alcohol and drugs have been ruled out. Road conditions are a possible factor. We don’t know if driving pattern was a factor, we don’t have evidence of that just yet as our investigation is ongoing,” Richter said.
She noted while the recent spell of warm weather might be cause for motorists to relax, conditions can still be variable, and caution should be observed while behind the wheel.
“I think drivers should be very cautious in the weather. When it warms up during the day and the temperatures dip below zero overnight, that often causes icy conditions,” she said. “Especially today, for example, there were also high winds and that tends to contribute to icy conditions and black ice as well. Road conditions have been varying lately, but they can be icy at times.”
