A 29-year-old man from Winnipeg is dead following a collision on the Trans-Canada Highway near Elie, Man., on Friday evening.

The Manitoba RCMP says the collision occurred just after 6 p.m. in snowy and icy conditions. Officers were originally called for a report of an eastbound cube van striking the guardrail of the bridge just west of the small community. 

Mounties say that officers were responding to that call when a second collision occurred involving a semi and the disabled vehicle.

The two occupants of the van are believed to have exited their vehicle and were standing beside it when an eastbound semi trailer struck the van. Police say the semi driver was in the process of slowing down to go around the vehicle when his trailer slid on ice and clipped the van. The force of the collision pushed the cube van into the two men.

A release from the RCMP says that when officers arrived they were told the two occupants of the van, both from Winnipeg, were being taken to hospital. The 25-year-old male driver was reported to have suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries whereas the 29-year-old male passenger, from Winnipeg, was reported to be in critical condition where he later succumbed to his injuries. 

The 23-year-old male semi driver, from Brampton, ON, who was not physically injured, immediately pulled over and provided medical assistance until EMS arrived on scene.

Police say that they believe road conditions, which were covered in snow and ice, were factors in the collision.

The eastbound lanes of Highway 1 were closed for over 12 hours while officers investigated the scene. Stonewall / Headingley RCMP, along with a Forensic Collision Reconstructionist, continue to investigate.