The teen was the passenger in a truck which was travelling in the westbound lane heading toward Deer Lake when it crossed over into the eastbound passing lane, according to the RCMP.
Cpl. Henry Poswiata of RCMP Traffic Services West said the truck went back into the westbound lane but continued onto the gravel shoulder, over a five-metre embankment, flipped and landed on its roof. Both the driver and passenger were pinned inside the truck.
The accident occurred just before 12:30 p.m. about a half-kilometre east of the turnoff to the airport on the Trans-Canada Highway.
RCMP Traffic Services West and Deer Lake detachment members attended the scene.
The Deer Lake Fire Department was also called and used the extrication equipment to remove the driver and the passenger, who were both wearing seatbelts.
The driver of the truck was taken to Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook with life-threatening injuries while the teenage passenger died at the scene.
There was freezing rain at the time of the accident and road conditions were extremely slippery with black ice.
“It’s still in the preliminary stages,” said Poswiata of the investigation.
“We still haven’t determined if speed was a factor, driving too fast for the road conditions, or was it just the road conditions. It’s still under investigation.”
A collision analyst from Traffic Services West unit attended the crash scene for scene examination and emergency crews were on the scene for more than two hours.
Although traffic was controlled near the scene, the portion of the highway involved was not closed down.
Poswiata said the age and sex of the teenaged victim would not be released as of press time because all next-of-kin had not been notified.
