OLIVER PAIPOONGE - One person has died after the car they were driving collided with a tractor trailer on Highway 17 west of Thunder Bay, police have confirmed.
The two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision around 9 a.m. Thursday in Oliver Paipoonge, just east of the Kakabeka Curling Club.
The transport truck had been heading eastbound, while the car was driving westbound. An investigation revealed the car had crossed the centre line before colliding with the truck, the Ontario Provincial Police reported.
The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later identified the deceased as 33-year-old Thunder Bay resident Bishop Racicot.
The driver of the tractor trailer escaped without injury and was released at the scene after assessment by paramedics, police said.
Both vehicles left the roadway and sustained heavy damage, requiring firefighters from Oliver Paipoonge Fire & Emergency Services to extinguish flames on the tractor trailer.
Highway 17 remained closed between Fraser Road and Jelly Road Thursday evening. A detour is available via Highway 102.
