3 dead in separate crashes 12 hours apart: Manitoba RCMP

An RCMP badge is seen in this undated file photo.

Three people are dead and two people are hurt following three separate crashes that took place over less than 12 hours in Manitoba.

The first crash took place on Dec. 31 at 4:25 p.m. in the westbound lane of Highway 1 at the intersection of Road 129 West in the R.M. of Whitehead.

RCMP officers investigated and determined that a 43-year-old man was driving a pickup truck heading west when it hit another westbound vehicle being driven by a 64-year-old woman.

The woman, who is from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, was taken to the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. However, the passenger in her car, a 56-year-old man from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man driving the pickup truck, who is from the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth, was not hurt.

At 10:55 p.m., RCMP responded to another two-vehicle collision -- this time on Highway 10 at the intersection of Road 142 North in the R.M. of Dauphin.

Police determined that an SUV travelling north hit another vehicle from behind.

Mounties said this crash pushed the vehicle into a ditch where it rolled.

The 35-year-old man from St. Theresa Point First Nation who was driving the vehicle was ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the SUV, a 70-year-old man from the R.M. of Dauphin, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The third crash, a single-car rollover, took place on Jan.1 at 2:45 a.m. on the bridge near the main road in Berens River.

RCMP alleges the driver was travelling south when he lost control, drove off the embankment and rolled onto the ice.

The 22-year-old man driving the car, who was the only person in the vehicle, was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

RCMP and forensic collision reconstructionists are investigating the three crashes.