1 dead after head-on crash southwest of Winnipeg

A 28-year-old man from Winnipeg died in a head-on crash with a semi-trailer truck southwest of Winnipeg on Wednesday morning.

Emergency crews closed a section of Highway 3 after anorthbound car and a southbound semi collided at 6:40 a.m. CTon Highway 3about five kilometres northeastof Sanford, Man., RCMP said.

The 28-year-old man was the driver and lone occupant the car, which investigators believe veered into the southbound lane before colliding head-on with the semi.

He was pronounced deceased at the scene. It's not known if he was wearing a seatbelt at the time, or if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The driver of the semi, a 46-year-old man from Winnipeg, was not injured, police said.

"It's an all-too common occurrence," said Mike Siemens, volunteer fire chief for the rural municipality of MacDonald. "We get a few severe head-on crashes on that highway."

Another two-vehiclecrash closedHighway 3 southwest of Sanford near Sperling, Man., on Tuesday,Siemens said.

The pair of recent collisions follow another fatal head-on crash in May that left both drivers dead and four passengers injured.

"We're getting high-speed crashes I guess more frequently," Siemens said. "Whether that's the speed of the driversgoing up or is it distraction? We're asking ourselves these questions."

Police continue to investigate the cause of the Wednesday crash.

Highway 3remained closed for hours while investigators worked.