Late Yukon RCMP Sgt. James “Jim” Giczi likely died of a heart attack before his motorcycle crashed on the South Klondike Highway, according to the territory’s chief coroner.
Giczi, a longtime member of the Yukon RCMP’s forensics unit, died Sept. 6. He and a companion had ridden their motorcycles to Skagway and were returning to Whitehorse when, about 25 kilometres south of the Carcross cutoff, the companion noticed Giczi was no longer following him.
The companion turned around and found Giczi, who was off-duty at the time, had gone off the highway and crashed into the east ditch.
Giczi was pronounced dead on scene.
In a press release Sept. 24, Yukon chief coroner Heather Jones wrote that the preliminary results of an autopsy in Vancouver indicated that Giczi “likely suffered a fatal heart attack prior to the motorcycle leaving the highway.”
The investigation is ongoing, the press release says, and no further information will be released at this time. (Jackie Hong)