Calgary, Canada— A multi-vehicle pileup during a blizzard on a highway in Alberta on November 1, 2026 killed two people and injured eight others, shutting down a major corridor for hours.
The crash happened on Highway 2, north of Calgary, around 3 p.m. Snow and wind cut visibility to near zero. The highway patrol said a semi-trailer jackknifed first. Then cars behind it braked hard and collided. In total, 18 vehicles were involved, including three commercial trucks.
RCMP officers arrived to find wreckage stretched over 300 meters. Two people were dead inside their vehicles. Eight others, including a child, were taken to hospitals in Calgary and Red Deer. Two are in critical condition. Snow continued to fall as rescue crews worked.
"We had whiteout conditions. Drivers could not see brake lights ahead. This is a chain reaction crash typical in sudden blizzards," an RCMP spokesperson said near the closure. He said speed and following distance are under review.
Alberta was under a blizzard warning Saturday. Environment Canada said wind gusts reached 80 kilometers per hour, with snowfall rates of 3 centimeters per hour. Highway 2, the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, is the busiest north-south route in the province.
The highway was closed for more than seven hours. Tow trucks struggled to reach the site through drifting snow. The Alberta Motor Association urged drivers to stay off roads. Several other minor crashes were reported on nearby highways.
One survivor said traffic slowed suddenly and then vehicles began hitting each other. He said he left his car and waited behind a guardrail to avoid being struck. Another said he saw a truck trailer sliding sideways across lanes.
Hospitals activated trauma protocols. Paramedics used snowmobiles to reach some victims. The province's emergency management agency opened a reception center for stranded motorists in Innisfail.
Transportation officials said plows had cleared the highway two hours before the crash, but blowing snow quickly covered it again. Investigators will review dashcam footage and black box data from trucks.
The highway reopened late Saturday with reduced speed limits. Police warned that blizzard conditions will continue into Sunday.
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