3 seniors dead after van drives off southern Alberta highway

Three seniors are dead after a highway collision in southern Alberta Wednesday.

Coaldale RCMP said that at approximately 6:30 p.m., they responded to a single-vehicle collision on Highway 845, just south of Highway 4, approximately a 25-minute drive southeast of Lethbridge.

A grey Ford Freestar minivan headed north on Highway 845 had driven off the highway on a curve before the CP Rail tracks, entering a deep ditch that it struck with a "significant impact" and coming to a rest on the tracks.

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The speed limit transitioned from 100 km/h to 65 km/h shortly before the location of the collision, RCMP said.

Police said all three elderly occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene from impact-related injuries. The occupants are believed to be from Raymond, Alta.

Police said their names will not be released and that next-of-kin notifications are ongoing.

Highway 845 was closed for emergency response, but has since been reopened.