A 13-year-old Teslin boy died in an ATV rollover Saturday evening.
Bradley Robert Anderson, the boy driving the vehicle, was apparently not wearing a helmet and sustained a fatal head injury during the crash.
Two other boys were in the vehicle, aged 13 and five. Both were injured. Paramedics took them to Whitehorse General Hospital.
One helmet was found at the scene.
The crash occurred near kilometre 1252 of the Alaska Highway at around 8 p.m. on July 2, according to an RCMP release.
The ATV was travelling west-bound on the highway’s gravel shoulder when, for reasons unknown, it rolled, according to a witness who spoke with police.
The three boys had attended a mountain bike race earlier in the day. They were believed to be travelling back to the home of the deceased, near the sight of the crash.
Police have seized the ATV and are investigating the cause of the crash.
“The RCMP offers its condolences to the family, friends and the community of Teslin for this tragic loss,” said Const. Dean Compagna in a release.
UPDATED VERSION
The Yukon doesn’t require ATV or snowmobile riders to wear helmets. Nor does it have a minimum age for using the machines off road - although on-road use requires a driver’s licence.
The NDP’s Steve Cardiff has pushed for a mandatory helmet law for several years.
In March, an all-party committee recommended the territory require ATV riders to wear helmets on roads. But the committee’s report didn’t call for a helmet law for off-road use, due to opposition by the Yukon Party’s Brad Cathers.
A survey conducted by the committee found that three-quarters of respondents agreed that ATV riders should have to wear a helmet. Nearly as many thought minors should have to wear helmets while riding the vehicles.