Search for toy kills woman snowmobiler, 68

An elderly Kuujjuaq woman died as a result of injuries sustained when the snowmobile she was driving collided with a municipal sewage truck on the Saturday following Christmas.

“It’s was a freak accident. It was a very unfortunate incident that we could have done without during the holidays,” said Kuujjuaq Mayor Michael Gordon, who personally investigated the circumstances around the collision.

During the late afternoon of Dec. 26, Jessie Shipaluk, 68, was riding her snowmobile down a street in Kuujjuaq, searching for a toy she had dropped earlier that day. A sewage truck was heading in her direction.

“Her eyes were fixed on the ground. She was retracing her skidoo tracks, looking for the toy. The sewage truck was in plain view, but he [the driver] wasn’t going fast. He saw her coming his way. He hit the brakes, but she decided to turn all of a sudden,” Gordon said.

The sewage truck couldn’t avoid hitting the snowmobile.

Gordon said Shipaluk was still conscious after the accident and able to speak to the driver. Sent to Montreal by medavac for treatment, Shipaluk was expected to make a full recovery, but died the next day.

Gordon, who was in Quaqtaq at the time of the accident, visited Shipaluk’s family and the sewage truck driver on his return to Kuujjuaq.

Aware of the history of deaths that municipal vehicles in Iqaluit have caused, Gordon said he took the fatal incident very seriously.

Gordon said he was very fond of Shipaluk, who called him “grandson.” Shipaluk, he said, had narrowly escaped death on another occasion when she had been pulled to safety after falling through thin ice on a lake.

After speaking with all the parties involved and with local police, Gordon said he’s satisfied the collision was “unavoidable.”

The municipal sewage truck was in good condition.

“It has been worked on recently, so the brakes and everything were functioning in good order,” Gordon said.

The truck driver asked for a leave as well as for a transfer to a non-driving position when he goes back to work.