Whitehorse RCMP looking for witnesses after Para cyclist injured in highway collision

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 10:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

RCMP successful Whitehorse are looking for immoderate witnesses to an evident hit-and-run collision connected the Alaska Highway precocious Saturday evening that near a Para cyclist earnestly injured.

Darryl Tait, a well-known section jock and accessibility advocate, was grooming for the upcoming Canada Summer Games connected his hand-cycle erstwhile the collision happened. He told CBC News that helium was riding southbound connected the road erstwhile helium was deed from down by a passing vehicle.

"I'm successful unchangeable information close now. Right now, my near limb is paralyzed and I can't usage it, and I person a mates of breached ribs, and breached L2 vertebrae," helium said connected Monday afternoon, from the infirmary successful Whitehorse.

"I'm successful beauteous bully signifier considering what conscionable happened."

The incidental happened conscionable before 10 p.m. connected Saturday, adjacent the Philmar RV Centre. Tait said helium had started his grooming thrust precocious that time due to the fact that of the beardown winds earlier successful the day.

He said helium was riding on the road erstwhile helium started to get a atrocious feeling. 

"I started to consciousness like, this benignant of feels off, like, this is simply a small sketchy ... Like, I'm ace debased to the crushed with these cars going by, and I'm connected the shoulder," helium recalled.

He figures helium travelled astir different 50 metres oregon truthful erstwhile helium was abruptly "smoked" from behind.

"I conscionable had this large thud from behind, and I blacked retired for a moment. I couldn't perceive anything, I couldn't spot anything."

The adjacent happening helium remembers is skidding down the roadworthy arsenic a conveyance drove disconnected down the highway. He says helium didn't spot immoderate brake lights from the conveyance arsenic helium slid sideways disconnected the roadworthy and toward the ditch.

Lying connected the ground, incapable to determination 1 of his arms, Tait tried to telephone 911 but his earbuds had been knocked retired and his telephone wasn't responding. He utilized his 1 moving limb to emblem down immoderate passing motorists who stopped and called for help.

He said RCMP and an ambulance arrived rapidly and helium was taken to the Whitehorse hospital.

Speaking connected Monday, Tait said his 1 limb was inactive not moving properly. He'd had an MRI earlier and was inactive waiting to perceive whether his limb could beryllium repaired.

"I tin wiggle my fingers and I tin like, motion my shoulder, but I don't person immoderate flexion oregon hold successful my bicep. I tin benignant of determination my wrist a small bit. But initially ... there was nary question astatine all," helium said.

"I volition effort to get this limb backmost oregon I'll beryllium spinning doughnuts successful my manual chair, for sure."

In 2009, Tait was progressive successful a snowmobile crash that near him paralyzed from the thorax down. He was displaying snowmobile jumps astatine an lawsuit successful the U.S. when a backflip went awry and the instrumentality landed connected him. He suffered terrible injuries including a severed spinal cord. He was adjacent to death.

After that accident, Tait vowed to stay progressive and became an accomplished para-athlete and an outspoken advocator for radical with disabilities oregon mobility challenges. 

Speaking connected Monday, helium said the play collision was "definitely scary," but that helium was drafting connected the enactment of galore radical to assistance him get through. 

"I'm alive, I'm present with my family," helium said, his dependable breaking with emotion. "You know, I got a batch of things that are going for me, the friends and household and assemblage enactment — that keeps maine strong," helium said.

In a quality merchandise connected Monday evening, Whitehorse RCMP asked for anybody who whitethorn person witnessed the collision, oregon has dash-cam footage, to interaction them at 667-5555.