A four-year-old girl was one of two people killed in a crash on Highway 3 west of Creston.

An eastbound Saturn SUV had crossed the centre line on Monday around 10 p.m. and collided head-on with an RV carrying a family of five on vacation from southwestern Alberta, Cpl. Mike Halskov of the BC RCMP鈥檚 traffic unit said.

鈥淭he RV left the highway and came to a rest on its roof and caught fire,鈥� he said in a news release.

A four-year-old girl who鈥檇 been sleeping in the back of the RV was killed.

The driver of the Saturn, a 26-year-old man from the Cranbrook area, also died. Halskov declined to release his name because of privacy concerns.

Evidence suggests the driver was returning home after leaving late from the Shambhala Music Festival in the West Kootenay. Impairment has not been ruled out.

鈥淥ur hearts are broken by this tragic news. Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the families and loved ones,鈥� said festival owner and president Jimmy Bundschuh, a father to a four-year-old himself, in a message to Black Press Media.

鈥淲e have an intensive 鈥楪et Home Safe鈥� campaign, from communication campaigns on the festival grounds and online, through to traffic control and an additional music-free day to restm鈥� he added. 鈥淭he precise details of the specific incident are not yet fully available and until such a time as they are, it is impossible for us to comment in more detail.鈥�

READ MORE:

Investigators have not been able to determine whether the girl had been wearing a seat belt because the RV is so damaged, Halskov said.

鈥淲ithout losing sight of the bigger picture here, regardless if belts were used or not, this collision would not have occurred had it not been for the actions of the other driver,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur thoughts are with the young girl鈥檚 family at this difficult time.鈥�

Mounties from the surrounding detachments would have stepped up enforcement both during and after the festival, he went on, to make sure, among other things, drivers are not impaired or overtired after the multi-day event.

鈥淧olice remind all drivers of the dangers of impaired driving which kills 68 people in B.C. every year, on average.鈥�

Anyone with information, including any dash camera video, is asked to call East Kootenay Traffic Services at 250-420-4244.

This is a corrected story. Information had previously been attributed to East Kootenay Traffic Services.

Like us on and follow us on