Two local residents hurt after truck rolls

Two Whitehorse residents were medevaced to Fort Nelson, B.C. on Saturday after the tractor-trailer unit they were travelling in rolled off the Alaska Highway near Toad River.

Two Whitehorse residents were medevaced to Fort Nelson, B.C. on Saturday after the tractor-trailer unit they were travelling in rolled off the Alaska Highway near Toad River.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Tom Roy told the Star this morning the 36-year-old male driver and the 38-year-old female passenger were flown from the accident site by helicopter to Fort Nelson.

The woman was subsequently transported to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton with serious but not life-threatening leg injuries, Roy said.

The names of the two locals are not being released at this time.

Direct General Partnership Corp. of Edmonton is the registered owner of the truck.

Roy said evidence at the scene and eyewitness accounts indicate excessive speed and carelessness were factors in the rollover.

The accident occurred just north of Toad River where the Alaska Highway twists and turns and goes up and down.

“The transport truck was travelling northbound on the Alaska Highway and entered a relatively sharp left-right curve, and we believe at this time the vehicle was travelling too fast for the curve,“ he said.

Roy said a caution sign in advance of the curve warns drivers to reduce speed to 60 kilometres per hour but evidence suggests the truck was travelling in excess of 100 km/h.

The driver was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the truck when it rolled, he said.

The woman was wearing her seat belt and was pulled from the cab by passersby who arrived first on the scene.

Roy said the truck was on its way to Whitehorse with a full load of general groceries, which spilled all along the highway ditch and were subsequently cleaned up.

The accident is still under investigation, and there is no evidence that alcohol or drugs were factors, he said.