by Castlegar Source on Thursday Feb 18 2021 The southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway, between Merritt and Hope, re-opened earlier this morning following a deadly crash late yesterday afternoon that prompted the overnight closure south of the City of Merritt. On February 17, 2021 at approximately 4 p.m., Merritt RCMP responded alongside emergency medical crews to a report of a collision involving two commercial vehicles on Highway 5, the Coquihalla Highway, approximately 4 km’s south of Merritt BC. Witnesses at the scene told police that both semi-tractor units were travelling in the southbound lanes of Highway 5, climbing a hill, when the collision unfolded. It is believed that one of those commercial vehicles was travelling at relatively slow speeds in the right hand lane. The second commercial vehicle collided with the rear of the first commercial vehicle as its driver attempted to overtake it on the left.