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Bluffton woman lucky to be alive after collision with semi

Staff reporter

A Bluffton woman is lucky to be alive following a Dec. 1 collision with a semi truck-trailer six kilometres north of Sylvan Lake that saw her airlifted for emergency treatment for life-threatening injuries by STARS air ambulance.

According to Cpl. Malcolm Calihoo of the Sylvan Lake RCMP, the 52-year-old woman whose name was not released, over-compensated while travelling on an ice-covered Highway 20 at approximately 12:35 p.m.

“We’re looking at it as the road conditions. Basically, Highway 20 was in really poor condition that day and very slippery. From the statement we received from the other driver, a white Ford Explorer was heading southbound on the highway and started to drift towards the west ditch,” Calihoo said. “From there she over-corrected and came across into the other lane. It was almost a head-on collision. The force of the impact was great enough to tear the front wheels off the tractor-trailer, so it was quite a strike. She’s very fortunate to be alive.”

While collision experts attended the scene to determine exactly what happened, the woman was transported to an Edmonton hospital for treatment while the driver of the tractor-trailer was unharmed.

“We got an update from our ambulance crew here and apparently she’s doing a lot better and is expected to survive,” Calihoo said. “She’s not well enough yet to provide a statement to us but it looks like she’s going to pull through.”

Crews from the Sylvan Lake Fire Department and sylvan Lake Ambulance Service also attended the scene.