A hand-held device may be to blame for a serious crash that closed Highway 97 in Kelowna for more than three hours on Thursday.
One man was taken to hospital in critical condition after a car and a mini-van collided head-on just before 9 a.m.
The 42-year-old driver of the car was rescued from the wreckage by firefighters, but may not survive.
The Kelowna resident wasn't wearing a seatbelt and authorities believe he suffered very serious internal injuries.
RCMP said it appears the vehicle driving south drifted into the ditch and overcompensated by turning the wheel hard – forcing it into oncoming traffic.
The two people in the mini-van were treated in hospital for minor injuries but have since been released.
Sgt. Brian Nightengale said investigators are now looking into whether an electronic device was being used at the time of the crash.
He believes distracted driving, including texting behind the wheel, is an all too common occurrence.
"I'll stop at a red light and look around the intersection and see half a dozen people either talking on the phone or returning text messages," Nightengale said.
"It is a very, very serious issue and a lot of people don't see this kind of carnage to understand what the potential is when you're driving like that."
Last week, police said distracted driving has overtaken impaired driving and speeding as the number one factor in driving deaths in Metro Vancouver.
Inattentive driving is now a factor in 47 per cent of fatal crashes, overtaking speed (36 per cent) and drinking (21 per cent) as the biggest danger behind the wheel.
