Teen facing charges after tragedy near Ross River

A teenaged girl is dead and a second is facing impaired driving charges after a truck with five people went into the Pelly River Saturday morning.

A teenaged girl is dead and a second is facing impaired driving charges after a truck with five people went into the Pelly River Saturday morning.

RCMP in Ross River were informed of the mishap at about 7:45 a.m., nearly an hour after it happened.

Staff Sergeant Major Ken Foster said today one of the four people who managed to escape the truck’s extended cab walked four kilometres to get help before finding a road crew working in the area.

Both the road crew and later the RCMP attempted to rescue the girl but she likely died shortly after hitting the water, Foster told the Star.

She was 16 or 17 years old, he said.

Her name is not being released.

“We offer our condolences to the family and the community,” Foster said.

An RCMP collision reconstructionist and members of the Yukon RCMP’s major case department investigated the crash.

A 16-year-old girl has now been charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

Her name is protected from publication under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.