Icy road conditions and rain claimed the life of a woman in her mid-60s early Wednesday morning on Highway 2 north of Legal.
The woman was headed south on Highway 2 near the turn-off into Legal when her small vehicle slid into opposing traffic and collided with a northbound semi-trailer. She died on scene and police are notifying her next of kin.
The driver of the semi was unhurt.
Cpl. Chantale Mailloux with the Morinville RCMP said road conditions were terrible this morning.
"The roads were extremely icy at the time of the collision and also the rain was a factor, it was raining at the time."
Road conditions were so poor Wednesday morning Sturgeon County advised against travel unless it was absolutely necessary.
Minor crashes
Poor road conditions led to collisions and problems throughout the region.
In St. Albert, roads would have been more suitable for shinny hockey than commuting Wednesday, as freezing rain quickly made them slick and slippery.
There were several minor fender-benders across the city and nearby, including a pileup on Campbell Road near 167th Avenue that involved between 12 and 15 cars.
Lisa Sobchyshyn, a spokesperson for the Edmonton Police Service, said the accident was more a traffic headache than a serious collision and no one was injured. Roads were extremely icy at the time.
"The members were having trouble even finding their footing," she said.
Cpl. Don Murray head of the St. Albert RCMP traffic unit said officers responded to 17 collisions on Wednesday. There were no injuries in most instances, but one woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
At one point there were three successive collisions on Ray Gibbon Drive within a matter of minutes, he said.
When roads are this icy people have to reduce their speed, he advised.
"Hopefully people will slow down and adjust their driving accordingly."
Two St. Albert transit buses suffered collisions and there were widespread delays in the system.
Transit director Bob McDonald said commuter routes were mostly running on time, but inside the city the schedule was thrown into complete disarray.
"We were very behind on our local routes," he said. "We are going to be back on schedule by [Wednesday] afternoon.
McDonald said the city would monitor the situation overnight and try to adapt accordingly for Thursday morning's commute.
