North

Driver was drunk, speeding in fatal Alaska Highway crash: coroner

Yukon's coroner says a driver killed in a crash near Whitehorse last May was intoxicated. Bradley Roberts was ejected from the vehicle when it went off the road.

Bradley Roberts, 34, was killed when his vehicle went off the road near Whitehorse

34-year-old Bradley Roberts was driving this 2004 Dodge SRT-4 when it went off the road May 12, killing him and sending his female passenger to hospital. (Whitehorse RCMP)

A Yukon coroner's report into a fatal vehicle crash on the Alaska Highway last spring says speed, alcohol and failure to wear a seatbelt were factors in the driver's death.

Bradley Roberts, 34, was driving on the Alaska Highway north of Whitehorse on May 12 with a female passenger, when his vehicle went off the road. It rolled three times and came to a rest about 100 metres off the roadway.

Roberts was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner's report says he died from blunt force trauma.

The 30-year-old female passenger was taken to Whitehorse General Hospital in serious but stable condition. 

The coroner's report says that Roberts was driving above the posted speed limit, at between 120 and 130 kilometres per hour, when he lost control of the vehicle.

Toxicological analysis indicated "moderate to heavy level of intoxication," with a blood alcohol level of 0.16.

The coroner also notes that Roberts was not wearing a seatbelt, causing him to be thrown from the vehicle.