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Highway crash claims Trail man

A local man has been killed in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday evening in the Birchbank area near Murphy Creek.

A local man has been killed in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday evening in the Birchbank area near Murphy Creek.

Trail RCMP and regional firefighters responded to a two-vehicle crash on Highway 22 at 7 p.m.

Initial investigation revealed that 53-year-old Franklin Murray Kotyk, from the Trail area, died at the scene as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

According to the police report, Kotyk was traveling toward Castlegar in a 2000 Ford SUV and crossed into the incoming lane.

The driver, from Vernon, was traveling toward Trail in a 1990 Chevrolet truck and was unable to avoid the SUV. He suffered serious injuries from the crash and was transported to Kelowna.

As a result of the collision, the highway was closed for almost four hours, said Cpl. John Ferguson of the West Kootenay Traffic Services.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and the occupants wore seatbelts, said the police.

The investigation into the crash continues.

The roads were slippery and snow covered at the time of the crash.