Alaskan dies after crash in Alcan 200 snowmobile race

A 38-year-old man from Alaska was killedon the weekend aftera snowmobile crash in the annual Alcan 200 Road Rally along the Haines Highway.

Jeffrey Peede of North Pole, Alaska, died Saturday morning shortly after the race began on the Canada-U.S. border.

The racer's snowmobile collided with a guardrail along the highway near Three Guardsman Pass, according to RCMP in Haines Junction, Yukon.

Paramedics, other racers and event volunteers attended to Peede until he was transported to the health clinic in Haines, Alaska, where he was pronounced dead.

Race's 1st fatality

This was the 40th anniversary of the Alcan 200 and the event's first fatality, RCMP said.

The Alcan 200 runs on the Haines Highway from the Alaska-B.C. borderthrough northwestern B.C. to Dezadeash Lodge in the Yukon.

Race marshal Dan Hanson told CBC News that Peede was well-known among his fellow racers,adding that Peede'sbrother Greg told competitors later Saturday about his brother's love of the sport.

"It was just a little thing, saying how much his brother loved this race and he worked on his snowmobile from June 'til now every year," Hanson said Monday.

"That's all they could do, is talk about the race, you know, for most of the year."

When the raceended Saturday, the competition's top finishers donated their winnings to Peede's family, Hanson said.

The post-race banquet was "a little sombre," Hanson said. "Everybody collected their trophies and just threw their cheques right back in the box."

Hanson said he would be speaking with Haines Junction RCMP on Monday as they began investigating the incident with the Alaska State Troopers and the Haines Police Department.