Hwy 5 closed after fatal crash between transport truck, car

Highway 5 east of Saskatoon was closed Thursday afternoon after a serious crash between a car and a transport truck.

The man driving the car was pronounced dead at the scene and a female passenger was airlifted to Royal University Hospital by STARS Air Ambulance.

Saskatoon Fire said in a release the collision occurred around 12 p.m. near the Ike Thiessen Grid Road junction.

Firefighters arrived on the scene to find the car, a Ford Taurus, smoking, and they had to extricate the trapped survivor before transferring them to paramedics.

The release said the entire roof of the car and the passenger side door had to be removed before the woman was pulled out.

There was no word of injuries to the driver of the five-tonne transport truck involved.

Saskatoon RCMP warned drivers the highway would be shut down for several hours while a forensic reconstructionist analyzed the scene.