Local RCMP have confirmed the 79-year-old Canal Flats man who recently perished in a collision involving a 41-year-old Abbotsford man hauling lumber was Fritz Kobza. The crash, between the victim’s 2008 GMC Sierra and a 2014 Volvo commercial vehicle, happened around 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21st after the Canal Flats driver, who was heading south, entered the northbound lane near Canal Flats and collided with the semi on Highway 93/95.

The Columbia Valley RCMP joined firefighters and the BC Ambulance Service to attend to the accident.

The Canal Flats driver passed away while being moved to the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook as a result of his injuries related to the accident. The Abbotsford driver was treated from minor injuries at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook after the accident.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Columbia Valley RCMP with help from an RCMP traffic analyst from Cranbrook and the B.C. Coroner’s Office, but Mounties are urging drivers to take safety precautions of the roads.