RCMP say Roughrider was driving wrong way down divided highway, alcohol and cannabis found in vehicle after fatal crash

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Police say alcohol and cannabis were found inside a vehicle driven by Saskatchewan Roughrider Jayden Dalke following a fatal crash that killed two people, including the CFL player.

In an update Monday morning, Saskatchewan RCMP revealed that Dalke, 30, was driving the wrong way, travelling northbound in the southbound lane of Highway 11 near Lumsden when the crash occurred around 9 p.m. Saturday.

He also reportedly left a gas station without paying about a half-hour before crashing, police said.

Both Dalke and the driver of the second vehicle, 22-year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru, were declared dead at the scene. They were the sole occupants of their respective vehicles.

Autopsies and toxicology are planned as part of the ongoing investigation.

Mandy Maier, director of strategic communications with the Saskatchewan RCMP, told reporters the service did not receive any reports of a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction on Highway 11 prior to the crash.

However, RCMP did receive a report of a silver SUV leaving a business without paying for fuel in Lumsden, northwest of Regina, at 8:27 p.m.

“Investigation has determined that this was the same silver SUV that was involved in the collision,” she explained.

A fundraiser established to help cover the cost of transporting Rajyaguru’s remains back to India has raised over $67,000 of its $50,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.

According to a post to GoFundMe from his friends and family, Rajyaguru came to Canada in 2022 and was living in Regina.

“He was a deeply responsible son, an honest friend, and a truly talented, passionate musician who filled our lives with melody and joy,” read the post.

“To know him was to know kindness, loyalty, and an infectious love for life. His future was incredibly bright, and his absence leaves a void that words simply cannot describe.”

“We need your help to bring him home.”

‘News travels fast’

Maier acknowledged public interest in the investigation, as well as inaccurate information being shared online when explaining the service’s response.

“News travels fast on social media, and we realize the RCMP is an official source of information,” she said.

“We have to know that the information we’re getting out there is accurate, and the result of facts and the actual investigation.”

Given both of the people involved in the crash are dead, Maier says there will be no formal public court process, meaning additional updates to the investigation may not be provided.

“There may be private conversations that happen with loved ones who are seeking answers or potentially even closure or more information,” she said.

“But typically, that information isn’t released to the public.”

‘We may never know the answers’: Maier

Maier added some questions surrounding the collision may never be answered.

“We have no one surviving from this collision. We have two families, multiple families, both locally and internationally, who are grieving right now,” she said.

“We have entire communities of people who can speculate, can provide limited information. But the reality is, we may never know the answers to many of the questions that we all have.”

With files from Blair Farthing