Man detained after escaping fiery crash on TCH

MURRAY MITCHELL/ THE DAILY NEWS

A firefighter puts water on the charred remains of a car that rolled and caught fire on the Trans-Canada Highway Thursday afternoon. Both occupants of the vehicle escaped serious injury.

RCMP arrested a man soon after he and another occupant crawled away from a fiery car wreck in Dallas on Thursday afternoon.

RCMP received several complaints from motorists about an erratic driver heading west on the Trans-Canada Highway into Kamloops minutes before the four-door car swerved into a roadside ditch, said Const. Rose Dunsmore.

The car rolled back onto the highway and came to a stop on its wheels across from exit 386. Fire and Rescue assistant chief Andy Philpot said the two occupants, a man and woman, crawled from the wreckage as the engine compartment caught on fire.

“The fire spread through the car before the (fire) engine arrived on scene,” Philpot said.

Passing motorists cared for the man and woman until emergency crews arrived. Philpot said firefighters dosed the flaming car before the fire could spread into the dry grass off the highway.

The accident brought west and eastbound traffic to a standstill. Firefighters closed the westbound lane to fight the fire. RCMP closed the east side while paramedics and firefighters tended to the man and woman.

Philpot said the occupants suffered scratches and bruises. Both were wearing seatbelts when the vehicle rolled.

The man was able to get to his feet and walk around. At that point an RCMP constable cuffed his hands behind his back and put him in the back of a waiting police car.

Dunsmore said the man was detained for questioning because of the erratic driving complaints. An investigation is ongoing.

Wreckage from the car was scattered about the road. An Alberta licence plate was untouched by the flames.

Eastbound traffic started moving about a half hour after the accident.

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