Motorcyclist airlifted to hospital after Friday collision

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A motorcycle lays on its side on Highway 2 after it struck a Ford F-150 Friday night. The rider was airlifted to hospital with undisclosed injuries. _ Morinville News Staff Photo

by Morinville News Staff

Morinville – A 54-year-old Calgary man was airlifted to hospital after a two-vehicle collision on Highway 2 and Cardiff Road Friday evening. Morinville RCMP, Morinville Fire Department and EMTs were called to the scene during the evening rush hour at approximately 5:12 p.m.. STARS Air Ambulance dispatched STAR-3 to Morinville shortly after and landed on Highway 2, north of the collision. The man was taken to hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Acting Staff Sergeant Mark Mathias told Morinville News Saturday afternoon that the 54-year-old Calgary man was driving a motorcycle northbound on Highway 2 when a southbound Ford F150 (that had been driving south) turned east on Cardiff road in front of the motorcycle.

The collision backed up northbound traffic on Highway 2 for approximately 3 kilometres as police rerouted northbound traffic off Highway 2 and down Cardiff Road until the highway could be reopened.

Mathias said the collision is still under investigation and that no charges have been laid at this time. The motorcyclist’s condition was not available by press deadline.

Work is currently underway on a series of traffic lights at the intersection of Highway 2 and Cardiff Road. The new light-controlled intersection is being designed by Al-Terra Engineering, the company hired by the province to implement the lights promised last fall by former Minister of Transportation Ric McIver. Although those lights were scheduled to be operational by the fall of 2014, Mayor Lisa Holmes recently announced via social media the lights would be operational by the end of July.

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STARS-3 comes in for a landing – Dave McPhee Photo

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The chopper lands to receive its patient – Dave McPhee Photo

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The chopper lands behind the barricades. – Dave McPhee Photo

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The motorcycle is lifted by a tow truck to clear the collision location. – Dave McPhee Photo

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5 Comments

  1. Sending prayers for a speedy recovery. This is only the beginning! This has always been a very dangerous intersection.The lights need to be hooked up immediately to avoid more mistakes like this one, not to mention there will be many motorists running the red lights when they do get hooked up! The speed limit should be 80 km all the way from St. Albert now to slow people down, It would be the only way considering how fast people go on that stretch of the highway. All they should have done was have the Cardiff Rd used as an entrance road so that people could see the vehicles turning in and they could use the new exit they went to all the trouble of building for people turning onto the highway. The people who designed the intersection should have been people who use it every day.

    • The sad thing is…lights wouldn’t have prevented this accident-only an overpass would’ve prevented this. Both the truck and the bike would’ve had green lights 🙁

    • Lets see, we now have 40 km on a HIGHWAY going through Cardiff and you would like 80 km all the way from St Albert. Maybe we should all just walk. Then we would all be perfectly safe!

  2. It’s funny when people comment that the speed limit should be reduced, when so far as I’m aware, it’s one of the very few (if only) stretches of double divided highway in the province that isn’t 110 km/h. It’s tragic when accidents like this happen, but unfortunately, there is no panacea other than drivers paying more attention, particularly when turning left with the potential of turning into oncoming traffic. This accident could just have easily happened with a speed limit of 80 km/h… or 60…

    Unfortunately, I am not very optimistic about the lights improving things. Of course, the best solution is an overpass – and if the government really wanted to do “what’s best”, that’s what should be going in, without question. Second best choice is a simple proper right turning lane from the northbound lane onto Cardiff Road, separated from the rest of the road. That would give Morinville drivers heading to Edmonton proper visibility. This traffic light solution is the worst, in my opinion. How many traffic lights do you see in the middle of double divided highways? I’m worried that even with advance lighting and signage, a lot of people aren’t going to be ready to suddenly slow down or stop, and how many rear end collisions will that actually cause? I also predict that the volume of Morinville traffic turning south at what is already a dangerous intersection will only get worse – most drivers that currently take the existing overpass to go to Edmonton probably won’t any more when faced with the possibility that they’re going to have to wait for a light as soon as they get on the highway.

    I don’t suspect for one moment that lights there are going to make the intersection safer – I just hope they don’t cause more accidents than there already are.

  3. >Dan, totally agree, Having the light on a divided highway will not improve things. If anything we may see more accidents due to drivers not slowing and rear ending others. To do it correctly they’ll have to do something like the southbound lights at st Albert, 80 down to 60. But again that may not be enough as people don’t expect light on a two lane highway.
    The offset ramp was the next ideal solution after the overpass. So these lights are supposed to be a stop gap measure until they can built an overpass. Don’t kid yourself after these are set up , it will never be built, at least not in my lifetime.

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