The 23-year-old man who died in a dirt biking accident last weekend has been identified as Eric Bonneteau, the BC Coroners Service has confirmed.

The Whitehorse resident was riding on land off Robert Service Way last Saturday when a crash led to a medevac to Vancouver General Hospital following brief treatment at Whitehorse General Hospital.

"Unfortunately, his injuries proved to be not survivable, and he died at Vancouver General on the morning of May 4,” BC Coroners Service spokesperson Barb McLintock told the Star.

Emergency responders were able to communicate with Bonneteau upon arrival at around 4:30 p.m. at the old motocross track, where the accident occurred, according to a Whitehorse RCMP release.

A memorial will be held this Saturday in Nanaimo, B.C., where his family resides.

Bonneteau worked as a mechanic at Trans North Helicopters, and was an exemplary worker and positive influence, his supervisor said.

"He had a tremendous work ethic, especially for a young man of his age. He was an engaged member of the Trans North family,” said general manager Arden Meyer.

"He always worked hard with all the boys in the hangar and in the field. He never shirked a task given to him. And you really never saw him without a grin on his face.”

Bonneteau worked with Trans North as an aircraft maintenance engineer for two years following his graduation from the B.C. Institute of Technology.

"He would have been due to licence in a year, and we were certainly looking forward to that,” Meyer said.

Relatively small in stature, Bonneteau "was all heart,” he added. "He worked hard and he played hard.”

Meyer cited the young man's passionate attitude on the ice with the Trans North hockey team in the Whitehorse men's recreational league.

Bonneteau also enjoyed snowmobiling and dirt biking, he added.

"The impact of his leaving us is certainly going to be hanging around here for a long time with his co-workers and friends,” Meyer said.

A memorial dirt bike ride is set to take place in Whitehorse this weekend, he said.

He thought Bonneteau was riding alone off Robert Service Way when the accident occurred, though there were witnesses.

The incident happened on city-owned land — now designated for snow dumping — used for years as a motocross track and go-karting area.

"It is a utility area. Just like many other areas in the city of Whitehorse, people use this area for other purposes, for motorbikes, etc.,” said city manager Christine Smith.

She emphasized that the space — once leased by the Midnight Sun Dirt Riders for dirt biking — "is not a motocross track.”

Smith said the incident may spark action from the city.

"It's not like we want to continue to have these areas used like this,” she said.

"Especially if there's been a death, we may indicate that it is an area of utility and that it's city property ... not meant for other purposes.”

She said temporary signs, ramps and jumps put up by dirt bikers may encourage dangerous recreation at the site.

"It's an ongoing effort to continue to take down signage that suggests this is a motocross site.”

The Midnight Sun Dirt Riders club fizzled out around 2006, said city planner Pat Ross.

The recreational group paid insurance premiums as well as a small leasing fee to the territory — the land was transferred to the city in 2009 — to use it regularly for riding.

The go-kart track was operated by another group under a sublease, Ross said.

Except for the annual Canada Day Mud Bog, no organized activities occur at the site, he said.

"Anything else is informal use of people going in there and doing that activity under their own risk,” Ross added.