U.S. motorcyclist dies after spill

An American traveller visiting the North from the Lower 48 died Saturday when he was thrown from his motorcycle on the Alaska Highway in southwest Yukon.

The 68-year-old man, who the RCMP are not identifying until his family has been notified, was riding alone on the stretch of highway between Beaver Creek and Destruction Bay when he lost control of his motorcycle.

He was driving through a construction zone on a gravel-topped section of the highway, just north of Burwash Landing.

There were some light showers through that area on Saturday, but it was not raining when the man was thrown from his motorbike.

Police were informed of the lone-vehicle crash by a passing motorist who used an OnStar device to call for help.

“I’m surprised it worked because cell phones don’t work through there,” Cpl. Ben Sewell of the Beaver Creek detachment said of the satellite-connected device.

Ambulance attendants from Destruction Bay were the first to arrive at the crash site, approximately half an hour after the emergency call went out at 3:15 p.m.

They pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, according to Sewell, and police do not believe he was in any way intoxicated.