Two people were hurt in a head-on crash near Chase yesterday on the Trans-Canada Highway, between a car and a semi-truck.

It happened at about 5 a.m., and Chase RCMP detachment commander, Sgt. Barry Kennedy, told NL News the car travelling eastbound crossed the centre line and hit the semi head on, and both vehicles went into the westbound ditch.

Kennedy said the man driving the semi-truck had back injuries, and the 30-year-old woman in the car, who is from the Chase area, is recovering at Royal Inland Hospital with injuries to her head and pelvis.

“I think that the driver of the car is very lucky that it wasn’t a fatality. Her car was crushed and jaws of life were required to extricate her, and she did suffer some severe injuries to her head. I think it’s very fortunate that she didn’t die as a result of this accident.”

Kennedy said there was debris all over the highway and about 100 litres of diesel fuel spilled from the truck.

The highway was closed for five hours after the crash, until about 10 a.m. Kennedy said the length of the closure was mostly related to awaiting resources for cleaning up the fuel spill.

The spot where the crash happened was about eight kilometres west of Chase, where the highway goes from two lanes to a four-lane, divided roadway. Kennedy said that has become a more common accident spot ever since the highway was widened west of there, several years ago. He said three years ago, there was a serious crash when two semi-trucks collided at that same spot.

“You’re rounding a corner just before you get to the start of the four lanes, and there’s a long straight stretch. And for some reason vehicles eastbound pick up speed on the straight stretch, and when they enter that corner they end up going too fast and end up crossing the centre line. And if there’s something coming the other way, there’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Kennedy said he hopes when the four-laning project is done between Hoffman’s Bluff and Chase that the crash risk will go down at that location.