(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
Manitoba RCMP are investigating two fatal vehicle collisions that occurred within minutes of each other on Wednesday evening.
The first crash happened at around 7:15 p.m. involving a pedestrian on Highway 44 in the RM of Brokenhead.
Police say a truck, being driven by a 61-year-old man, was travelling on Highway 44 when a couch he was transporting fell out. The driver stopped and was attempting to retrieve the couch from the middle of the road when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle, driven by a 23-year-old man from the RM of Springfield.
The truck driver, from Oakbank, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the other vehicle wasn’t injured.
Approximately five minutes later, Oakbank RCMP and Springfield police responded to a collision involving a cyclist on Highway 12, near the intersection of Highway 15, in the RM of Springfield.
A vehicle, driven by a 41-year-old woman from the RM of Springfield, was travelling on Highway 12 when it collided with a cyclist.
The 77-year-old Anola man riding the bike was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the vehicle wasn’t injured.
In both incidents, RCMP say alcohol wasn’t a factor, but dark road conditions played a role.
