Kugluktuk motor vehicle incident claims life of teenage girl
Loader and pedestrian involved in fatal incident, RCMP says
The RCMP is asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of 11-year-old Jonas Klengenberg, who has been missing since early Thursday, to call the Kugluktuk detachment at 982-1111. (File photo)
Condolences poured in on Facebook for the family of a 16-year-old girl who died in a motor vehicle accident in Kugluktuk on July 18.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. George Henrie said officers in the Kitikmeot region community received a report of an accident involving a loader and pedestrian at approximately 10:40 a.m. last Thursday.
When police arrived at the scene, the victim had succumbed to her injuries, he said.
The driver of the loader, a 37-year-old-man from Kugluktuk, was unharmed and remained on scene to co-operate with investigators. He was working during the time of the accident for the hamlet.
Police did not identify the victim or the driver of the loader.
The Hamlet of Kugluktuk office stopped operations the afternoon the tragedy was reported. On Facebook, the hamlet’s announcements page asked witnesses to contact the RCMP.
Henrie said no further information could be provided as the investigation into the accident is still ongoing.
The Loader should have had an escort vehicle or spotters.
Condolences to Families of all involved.
A tragic accident, a well respected driver, a young life lost. We’ve all had close calls, a truly sad story. I’m not laying blame as its an accident but there seems to be a lacking of situational awareness from pedestrians in the hamlets, little kids run at trucks and try to touch doors, kids slide on hills onto roads. Almost everyone wears headphones now, more and more trucks on the roads now schools need to teach road safety or parents. Talk to your kids about road safety starts at home, trucks cant always see you.
Condolences to the families of the victim and operator. A lot of teens in this town have no situational awareness. Walk in the middle of road with headsets, earphones. No clue when vehicles come around and try their best not to let them pass, and stay in front of them as much as they can. Or either always glued to their device and walking in the middle of the road. A lot of heavy equipment have blind spots, especially when they have a big load like it was operating with. No fault of the operator. The owner should have made sure he had all his extra escorts he needed.
This is such a sad and tragic situation. Sincere condolences to anyone affected. And I certainly agree that more has to be done to ensure safety. It’s somewhat surprising that these incidents are not more common. But they are preventable, and one is one too many. One area of disagreement though ( I have no knowledge of what happened, but based on the comment regarding the load and need for escorts) is that the operator is solely responsible for safety. If his or her sightlines were compromised or if a lead vehicle was required, it was their responsibility to refuse to proceed until it could be done in a safe manner. I’m not blaming, just responding to what seems to be fault being put to the owner of the load. If I ask a loader operator to move a shed or seacan it is their job to ensure it is done safely, not mine as the customer.