The man involved in the fatal 2004 traffic crash with local artist Dereen Hildebrand pleaded guilty Thursday to two charges under the territorial Motor Vehicles Act.

Martin Biondelli, 51, pleaded guilty to careless driving and towing a trailer without adequate brakes.

A Haines Junction resident, Biondelli could face up to nine months in jail or a $1,500-fine.

Deputy judge Dennis Overend presided over the territorial court proceedings.

The judge, visiting from British Columbia, is expected to rule on the case by the end of next week, when Biondelli is due back in court.

He was originally charged with six counts under the act. They included speeding, driving a vehicle that did not conform to safety standards, and failing to maintain the condition of his vehicle and other equipment.

The collision occurred late in the afternoon of Jan. 23, 2004. Biondelli was towing a trailer, a car dolly with a vehicle on top of it, that weighed more than his Chevrolet Blazer.

As he was driving south on the Alaska Highway, the trailer hitch broke, sending the car dolly into the oncoming lane, where it crashed head-on with Hildebrand's minivan.

Two other cars then slid in behind Hildebrand, who was 51 when she died.

While there were no other major injuries, the female driver of one car was taken to Whitehorse General Hospital for minor head injuries.

A 911 call to Whitehorse RCMP at 3:30 p.m. alerted them to the four-vehicle pile-up.

Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters had to cut Hildebrand's body from the minivan. The mother of three died at the site of the crash on the highway just south of Porter Creek.

Police reported at the time that the roads were very slippery with snow.

A portion of the highway close to the crash site, along Rabbit's Foot Canyon, was closed for several hours in the aftermath.

Hildebrand was well-known in the community as one of the co-founders of the Arts in the Park program, which is currently running in downtown Whitehorse until the end of July.

She was also known for her window paintings that dressed the windows in the downtown core for the Christmas season.