Myles Cameron, a member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Yorkton Terriers has died in a car accident.
The 20-year-old defenceman was killed when a Ford 150 he was a passenger in "went off the road into the ditch and rolled over," said Norm Flemming a Sergeant with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment at Duck Lake.
Flemming said there were four occupants in the truck, Cameron was the lone fatality.
The accident occurred about 1:25 a.m. Wed. Dec. 22, on a road on the Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation. Flemming said the four were apparently returning from Duck Lake when the accident happened.
Yorkton Terrier head coach Trent Cassan said news of Cameron's death reached the team quickly.
"Certainly it's very sad news to find out at any time, but especially over the holidays," he said.
With the team in the midst of the SJHL's Christmas break Cassan said he has only been in contact with players via phone, text and email.
"Word spread pretty quickly," he noted, adding "those I talked to were obviously pretty shocked."
With the team dispersed home for Christmas Cassan said it was not possible for them to attend Cameron's funeral which was held Christmas Eve in Duck Lake. He said team Assistant coach Dan McKay and general manager Don Chesney were in attendance,
The Terriers were scheduled to practice Tuesday afternoon, the first time the team would be together after the death.
"I know it's going to be tough for sure, not having one of your teammates there," said Cassan, who went through a similar situation as a Terrier player in 2002, when Josh Campbell was killed in an vehicular accident.
Cassan said having played through the Campbell situation, Chesney and McKay were coaches then, may provide some insight into how to deal with the situation, but added, "I don't think this is something you can ever be prepared for."
As for how player's may react, Cassan said that too is an unknown.
"Everybody handles these things differently, how they mourn the loss of a teammate," he said.
To help the team deal with the emotions of the loss Cassan said team pastor Don Anderson will be on-hand.
"He'll meet with he guys as a group and he's very good to make himself available to the guys," said Cassan.
As of Monday morning, Flemming said no charges had been laid.
"We're gathering details if charges are appropriate, and what those charges would be," he said, adding there is a court date set for March should charges be laid.
Asked if alcohol was involved? the officer replied, "we're certainly looking at is as a contributing factor."
Flemming said the accident scene is 小蓝视频 assessed in terms of road and weather conditions the night of the accident, as well as the mechanical condition of the truck, before a final cause is determined and whether charges will be laid.
