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Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Jayden Dalke was driving the wrong way on the highway with alcohol and cannabis in his vehicle before the crash that killed him and another driver, RCMP say.
Saskatchewan RCMP sent a news release Monday morning saying officers responded to a crash Saturday night at 9 p.m. CST.
RCMP say investigation found Dalke had been driving a silver SUV northbound in the southbound lane on Highway 11 between Regina and Lumsden. The entire stretch of Highway 11 between Regina and Lumsden is divided, with two lanes in each direction.
Dalke’s SUV collided with a black SUV about nine kilometres southeast of Lumsden.
Both drivers died in the crash and both were the only ones in their vehicles.
Bhishma Rajyaguru, 22, of Regina was identified as the driver of the other vehicle.
The families of Rajyaguru and Dalke, 30, who was from Leduc, Alta., have both been notified.
At a news conference Monday, RCMP spokeswoman Mandy Maier asked people to be kind in their online comments out of respect for the grieving families.
“There’s a lot of people who are hurting right now,” Maier said. “There are two people deceased. This is extremely tragic.”
Rajyaguru’s friends have started an online fundraiser in the wake of his death.
“His parents in India are currently facing the nightmare that no parent should ever have to endure: the loss of their child,” the page for the campaign says.
”We, his friends here in Canada, are coming together to ensure that Bhishma is transported back home so his family can hold him one last time and lay him to rest.”
The fundraiser organizers described Rajyaguru as a “beautiful soul, a best friend, and a beacon of light,” and called the crash as “a senseless tragedy that has shattered the hearts of everyone who knew him.”
At the news conference, Maier told reporters that no more details were available about the alcohol and cannabis found in Dalke’s vehicle.
Maier said RCMP did not receive any reports about a vehicle travelling the wrong way on the highway prior to the crash.
However, she revealed that RCMP received a report at 8:27 p.m. CST about a silver SUV having left a gas station in Lumsden without paying for fuel, and that further investigation found it was Dalke’s SUV.
She also acknowledged the RCMP could have released information about the crash earlier. The information released was determined after “extensive consultation” to ensure the details were accurate.
“News travels fast on social media,” Maier said. “And we realize that the RCMP is an official source of information.”
Maier said she could not provide an estimate of when autopsies and toxicology tests will be completed. She said collision reconstruction investigations can take months.
RCMP do not usually reveal the names of those killed in crashes, Maier said, pointing to the public interest in this case.
She added that because both occupants were killed and there will be no court proceedings, some questions about the incident may remain unanswered.
“We may never know, right, we have no one surviving from this collision,” Maier said. “But the reality is we may never know the answers to many of the questions we all have.”
The Riders drafted Dalke in the sixth round of the CFL draft in 2022. Information on the Roughriders website says Dalke was returning to Regina after spending the team’s bye week in Leduc.
Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day spoke to media about Dalke on Monday morning, before RCMP had released details of the crash.
“In football he was tough and reliable, accountable. Never wanted to let anyone down. He was someone that always wanted to do good for his teammates.”
Saskatchewan Roughriders’ linebacker and captain Jayden Dalke was driving on the wrong side of Highway 11 before the fatal crash, police confirmed Monday. Officers responded to the crash late Saturday, and located alcohol and cannabis inside the SUV.
O’Day offered condolences on behalf of the CFL.
“To Jayden’s family, his friends, anyone that that has come in touch with Jayden. You know, we’re deeply saddened by this tragic event,” said O’Day.
The Lumsden RCMP detachment is investigating the crash with the help of an RCMP collision reconstructionist.
