A terrifying incident took place on Tuesday when a semi collided with a tow truck wrecker and the vehicle which it was assisting in the eastbound lane on Highway #1. 

The Swift Current Rural RCMP responded to the call at approximately 7:05 p.m., near Beverly, just west of Swift Current. 

At the time of the incident, the heavy wrecker, belonging to Low Cost Towing of Swift Current, was hooked to the front of the semi unit via winchlines and was attempting to winch it out. The operator of the tow truck was underneath the winched semi unit repairing an air leak. 

A second semi-truck, a tractor-trailer unit, collided with the semi in the ditch and the tow truck, causing extensive damage to the wrecker and pushing the semi-truck the tow truck operator was working on into the wrecker. 

As a result of the accident, three people were taken to the hospital: the tow truck operator with injuries described as non-life-threatening; a passenger in the stuck semi with injuries described as serious but non-life-threatening; and the driver of the stuck semi, as a precaution.  

In a statement from Low Cost Towing of Swift Current, Owner, Cindy Remple, said that after the incident, the operator immediately went to check on other individuals involved in the crash while another motorist on the highway that witnessed the accident called emergency services. 

“Our operator was taken to the hospital to get checked over and has been released and is at home with his family,” she stated. “He is scraped up pretty good and is very sore and bruised but will recover.” 

heavy wrecker accident

In Saskatchewan, the law states that drivers must slow to 60 kilometres per hour when passing a tow truck or service vehicle stopped on the roadside with its amber or amber and blue lights flashing while it is rendering assistance to a disabled vehicle unless the truck is on the opposite side of a divided highway. 

“This accident is proof that people need better education and there needs to be stiffer enforcement to help all the workers on the highway, whether tow trucks, tire shops, police, etc.,” Remple added. “This situation should never have happened if the semi driver had obeyed the law.” 

The extreme weather conditions at the time of the collision led to treacherous road conditions and many road closures. 

“The highways were extremely icy at the time of the accident and all drivers should have adjusted speed due to poor conditions, but it was witnessed that the semi unit that struck our wrecker was not slowing and had just previously passed other trucks,” Remple noted in the statement. 

The collision is still under investigation by the Swift Current Rural RCMP. 

“We ask that all drivers be more aware of what is on the roadway in front of them and move over to give room for tow trucks to work,” Remple continued. “This is not a new law, and these types of accidents should never happen. Please pray for all those involved.”