COLUMBIA VALLEY — The B.C. Coroner’s Office will hold a public inquest into the deaths of three people killed on Highway 95, north of Brisco, at the beginning of the year.

On the afternoon of January 19, Chul Lee, Kwang Cha and Chungjic Koh were killed when their 1996 Oldsmobile collided with two logging trucks.

Highway conditions were not believed to be a factor in the accident.

Lee, the car’s 64 year-old driver, had pulled out of a rest stop and drove directly into the path of a southbound logging truck.

The two vehicles collided, and the car went into the northbound lane of the highway, where it was hit head on by a semi-trailer.

All three men, who were from the lower mainland, died at the scene.

According to a release from the coroner’s office, the inquest was called under section 18 3 (b) of the coroner’s act, which states that public hearings may be held when “the death resulted from a dangerous practice or circumstance, and similar deaths could be prevented if recommendations were made to the public or an authority.”

The inquest will begin June 25, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. in Invermere Provincial Court, and will run until June 29.

At the end of the inquest, the jury can make recommendations based on evidence heard during the proceedings.