Driver dies after semi-truck crashes through bridge, plunges into B.C. lake

The driver of a semi-trailer truck is dead after the vehicle plunged 18 metres off a highway bridge into a lake near Sicamous, B.C., on Saturday, police said. 

Officials said Sunday afternoon the driver's body and the vehicle's wreckage have both been recovered from the scene at the Bruhn Bridge on Highway 1, about 100 kilometres east of Kamloops.

Sicamous RCMP said in a news release around 2:45 p.m. PT. Saturday that they responded to the incident around 6:45 a.m. PT. Police believe the driver was the only person inside the truck.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson say they wish to share their condolences with the driver's family and friends.

"It's tragic, and our thoughts are with them right now," Anderson said. 

The driver has yet to be publicly identified.

The Bruhn Bridge was closed in both directions after the incident and reopened in the afternoon under controlled conditions with a speed limit of 30 km/h, according to DriveBC.

"It's a major transportation route," Anderson said. "Our goods and service supplies go down [Highway] 1, so it's imperative that we get that open and moving."

The CSRD added that repairs will begin on the bridge on Monday, after the RCMP reported that the bridge deck sustained "significant damage."

There are plans to replace the Bruhn Bridge, which is over 60 years old, with a new structure that could support four lanes. The province's project website states that construction is expected to start this fall. 

Anderson told CBC News on Sunday that she "doesn't see any changes" to that plan due to the crash. But she said it's still important to repair the current bridge since the new one is expected to take around three years to build.

"I think it's still full steam ahead," she said. "It's a project that needs to move forward."

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement to CBC News Sunday afternoon that its staff are still investigating the damage to the bridge and are currently unable to comment on whether this changes the scope and timeline of the project.

Tracy Hughes, the CSRD's communications coordinator, told CBC News that the truck fell into the Mara Lake side of the bridge into the Sicamous Channel, where Mara Lake and Shuswap Lake meet.

The province's Ministry of Environment continues to assess the impact of diesel spilled from the truck and work on clean-up measures Sunday, the CSRD said. It has also said that Interior Health was alerted about the spill, but there doesn't appear to be a significant risk to the area's drinking water supplies. 

The truck's cargo also doesn't pose any public health hazard, according to the district. 

The CSRD and Anderson also asked the public to continue avoiding the area Sunday.