Charges have been laid against the driver of the truck that was involved in a fatal single-vehicle collision at the Lewes River Bridge south of Whitehorse late last year.
In a release shared on July 2, Seth Michael Jorgensen has been charged with careless driving under the Yukon Territorial Motor Vehicle Act as a result of RCMP investigation. Jorgensen is set to appear in court in October.
On the morning of Sept. 16, 2024, a truck carrying a trailer travelling on the Alaska Highway missed the Lewes River Bridge and plunged into the Yukon River, per a RCMP notice published at the time.
The July 2 release from the police said that Jorgensen was driving the truck, and that his passenger, Knate Ostenso, died as a result of the truck going into the river.
Ostenso and Jorgensen, both American citizens and residents of Arizona, had been pulling a trailer loaded with other vehicles. Both the truck and the trailer were submerged in the river: Jorgensen was able to escape the vehicle without injury. Ostenso was unaccounted for but was found deceased in the Yukon River on Oct. 7, 2024.
The speed limit at the stretch of the highway approaching the Lewes River Bridge has since been lowered from 100 km/h to 70 km/h. There is also an advisory speed limit of 50 km/h while going over the bridge itself.
Other features have been added to the area as well, including updated road lines and an extended no-passing zone as reported by the News earlier this year.
According to a May 13 Facebook post from Yukon Highway and Public Works, they are also planning on conducting repairs on the bridge’s piers to strengthen them, modifying access to Sawmill Road to improve sightlines, and adding lighting on the highway approaching the bridge.
With files from Dana Hatherly
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
