Good Samaritan assaulted
RCMP officers arrested three Whitehorse residents following a traffic incident and assault last Wednesday near Watson Lake.
RCMP officers arrested three Whitehorse residents following a traffic incident and assault last Wednesday near Watson Lake.
At 9 p.m., Watson Lake officers were advised of a single-vehicle collision at kilometre 1046 on the Alaska Highway.
A Good Samaritan driving a semi-tractor trailer truck stopped to help the occupants of the vehicle, which had flipped on its roof on the highway.
“After assisting the three occupants out of the damaged vehicle, those individuals then stole the semi-tractor trailer truck and drove it approximately 500 feet down the highway before getting it stuck,” police said.
“The three accused then returned on foot to the Samaritan and began assaulting him.”
Responding RCMP officers located the three individuals and arrested them on the scene after their brief attempt to evade police. All three had outstanding warrants for arrest.
The truck driver sustained minor injuries and was treated at Watson Lake Hospital.
The vehicle, a white 2021 Toyota Rav4, had been reported stolen earlier in the day out of Dawson City.
Kody Smith, 26, has been charged with the possession of property obtained by crime and robbery.
Michael Bennett, 20, is charged with the possession of property obtained by crime, robbery and failing to comply with release order.
Kiara Hagen, 20, faces charges of the possession of property obtained by crime, robbery and failing to comply with a release order.
The three accused persons are in jail pending future court dates. The investigations are ongoing.
Any motorists who may have seen the vehicle on the Alaska Highway between Whitehorse and kilometre 1046 last Wednesday are asked to call Watson Lake RCMP at 536-5555.
If you have information to provide to police, but wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at https://www.crimestoppersyukon.ca or by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Comments (26)
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Krueger on Sep 15, 2022 at 11:18 pm
I'm the truck driver that this happened to. A lot more is missing from the story, but sums it up about 70% i'd like to know if they are still in jail. I can't find anything online saying otherwise.
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Groucho d'North on Mar 29, 2022 at 9:48 am
And now for the courts to deal with these mutts who appear to be familiar with the judicial process from previous activities.
They have demonstrated they have a negative value for our communities and society, so why do the post -court agencies believe they can recuperate these criminals to be contributing citzens? Why do we never hear of criminals who have turned their lives around and can be trusted again? The legal system is broken and nobody gives a damn as long as the money keeps flowing.
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Watson lake resident on Mar 28, 2022 at 10:55 am
@long memory
None of the individuals are from Watson Lake, the truck driver wasn't from Watson Lake and the assault took place miles out of town on the Alaska hwy. What exactly does Watson Lake have to do with it?? The other person that stopped and assisted the driver was a Watson Lake resident. He stopped and risked being beaten as well to help. Get your facts straigh. I live here and love it here so take your opinion of Watson Lake and shove it.
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Yukoner ‘71 on Mar 26, 2022 at 12:49 pm
@Drum, you are so right. We lived along the Alaska highway and never used to lock either our house or car doors and never had a problem except for siphoned gas once in a while, in fact I doubt we even had the keys for our house doors in the 70’s. Can you imagine going to sleep night after night with every door in your house left unlocked in 2022 with never a second thought given to it? Yet the people from that previous era are somehow portrayed to be worse and less ‘enlightened’ than today.
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drum on Mar 25, 2022 at 10:07 pm
Things have changed in the Yukon. In the past we never passed someone who looked in trouble. Now I would not stop for anything. I value my life.
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North_of_60 on Mar 25, 2022 at 7:54 pm
@Nathan Living, there is a model for light sentences and probation and investment in training that will work wonders. It's called the "Adopt a Con" program. Instead of jail time they get to come live with folks like you who cannot give up on young adults who need our support. No doubt you will want to make arrangements for a program like that here for you to be involved in.
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Charlie's Aunt on Mar 25, 2022 at 6:52 pm
Does RCMP send alerts out to gas stations when a vehicle is reported stolen? Offenders are from Whitehorse, but unless it was hybrid or they had two or three gas cans stored at home, they would have had to stop for gas to get from Dawson to Watson Lake.
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Fan of Wayne on Mar 25, 2022 at 3:05 pm
@Thomas Brewer
CHON slaps brah. CKRW plays the same old crap over and over, tired old commercials from the 1990s.
Check out Wayne Bobalicious' show on CHON. Or the blues and rock shows. Top shelf programming and Wayne's sound bites are funny as hell.
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Yukoner ‘71 on Mar 25, 2022 at 12:37 pm
After a very bad near life threatening experience with a hitch hiker on the North Klondike back in 1997 I don’t stop for anyone anymore unless I know them. There are some real wackos out there that you don’t want to let in your car. Every time you stop you roll the dice with your life.
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Liberalism Kills - The saga continues - Same shyt different day! on Mar 25, 2022 at 7:22 am
In response to - Long memory on Mar 24, 2022 at 12:32 pm:
Interesting turn of phrase. Don’t stop in that s***hole. What do we call stuff that passes through a s***hole?
That reminds me of an old joke from my wonder years. This traveller checks in at a local hotel. The traveller has not had a very pleasant journey so far and says to the desk clerk, “this place must be the the a**hole of the world”, in a travel weary voice.
The desk clerk responds, “Then may I assume sir you are just passing through?”
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bonanzajoe on Mar 24, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Patti Eyre, I read Matt's comment. Where did he say or even infer that Canada was a country in 1763? The truth is Canada was a country in 1763, albeit a colony. It was made up of upper and lower Canada. Did you pass your Social Studies and history class?
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Patti Eyre on Mar 24, 2022 at 2:03 pm
@Matte - Canada wasn't a country in 1763, do you mean "we" as in the imperial royals? Long live Canada!
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Long memory on Mar 24, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Years ago a truck driver was being swarmed in Watson Lake and ended up fleeing in his truck and hitting (and killing? I don't remember) one of his assailants. The truck driver went to jail. Moral of the story is: Watson Lake is a s***hole. Don't ever stop there.
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Mitch Holder on Mar 24, 2022 at 10:43 am
We used to drive criminals like this out of town on a one way trip to a Farley Mowat death. We should do so again if the justice system is too busy prioritizing identity politics and decriminalized drugs over a global pandemic and a broken justice system. When you fail to prioritize and triage multiple hazards, they all get you when you let your guard is down.
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Where's the Yukon justice on Mar 24, 2022 at 9:23 am
Don't quote me on this but 2 out of the 3 will get their glaude report and do zero jail aside from sitting in the cells now.
Next time maybe the cops can just release them between Watson and Whitehorse at like 1 am, but it's too warm for that anyways.
Pathetic clowns these three.
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Fran Green on Mar 24, 2022 at 8:24 am
This is so sad all around.
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Nathan Living on Mar 23, 2022 at 7:51 pm
These young adults have lost their way and I bet our court system will be lenient to ensure they are productive members of society in the future.
There must be a model for light sentences and probation and investment in training that will work wonders.
We cannot give up on young adults who need our support.
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Thomas Brewer on Mar 23, 2022 at 6:49 pm
CHON FM (who knew they actually do news??) has way more information on this: grand theft auto x2, impaired driving (likely x2), multiple assaults, destroying property, evading, possession of proceeds, and failure to abide by previous probation orders (dealing cocaine - thanks judge!).
http://www.chonfm.com/2022/03/23/kaska-driver-recounts-highway-attack/
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Moose101 on Mar 23, 2022 at 6:12 pm
Maybe the NDP should get a better transportation system from Dawson to Watson lake
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Holy F@%k on Mar 23, 2022 at 4:38 pm
And you wonder why most people don't give a flying eff about these s**t rats...prime example right here.
I hope the truck driver is OK and recovers fully.
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bonanzajoe on Mar 23, 2022 at 4:27 pm
'All three had outstanding warrants for arrest.' Thanks Judge for letting them go to commit some more crimes.
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mike hawley on Mar 23, 2022 at 4:01 pm
Smith, Hagen and Bennett sound like real smart criminals.
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Thomas Brewer on Mar 23, 2022 at 3:51 pm
Time for the judiciary to literally throw the book at these bozos. Previous interactions with the legal system apparently have not struck home with them.
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JustSayin' on Mar 23, 2022 at 3:39 pm
I am sure there are some proud parents around. I think the truck driver should be allowed to sue these individuals for future earnings. Why should the driver have to suffer PTSD and all the other trauma he may have? Too bad it wasn't -40 and these adults didn't lose a limb to frost bite or something.
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Al on Mar 23, 2022 at 3:01 pm
Pretty bad when you stop to help and you get beaten up. Just like the folks who got murdered a couple of years back along the highway. There was a time when you travelled the highway it was common practice to stop and help anyone who needed assistance. Now I guess you take your life in your own hands if you stop.
The worse of this, once before the courts they are likely to get the Tsk, Tsk slap on the wrist with a promise that they will good boys in the future and set free. Yet another example of how well the justice system works, er, doesn't work. The RCMP do their job and then everything goes to hell in a hand basket thereafter.
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Matt on Mar 23, 2022 at 2:58 pm
This despicable act is screaming out for the reinstatement of public floggings. In 1763 we would have dealt with these miscreants in the proper manner....tar and feathers right after a public caning.