Couple starts petition for better highway maintenance after head-on collision near Swift River, Yukon

A Watson Lake, Yukon, couple has started a petition in the hopes of bringing more attention to what they say is a poorly-maintained stretch of the Alaska Highway.

Patricia Lamha and Kevin Chaput started the petition after Lamha was seriously injured in a crash last month in the Swift River area, between Watson Lake and Teslin, Yukon.

Lamha said she was travelling home from Whitehorse around 5 p.m. on Jan. 5, when she came upon a trucker who had jackknifed in a rest stop. She checked on him to see if everything was OK before getting back into her vehicle and back on the road.

Lamha said the road was extremely icy that day, and it hadn't appeared like any sand had been put down yet.

Soon after getting back on the road, she was hit head-on by another vehicle. It happened at around kilometre 1118 of the highway. 

"They slid into me," Lamha said. "They lost control on the ice and they were on my side of the road. When we collided, it caused my vehicle to fly across to the other side of the road.

"I basically broke both bones below my lower knee ... My head was cut open and exposed my skull. I had a brain bleed, and then just multiple bruises and contusions."

Lamha said the people in the other vehicle were also injured but she's not sure how badly.

Police could not confirm to CBC News the cause of the accident. 

Lamha said she was treated at the Whitehorse General hospital and eventually transferred to Watson Lake to finish her recovery. She said a doctor told her it would take at least six months until she can walk on her leg again.

As a school teacher in Watson Lake, she said doesn't think she'll be able to return to work for the rest of the school year.

Chaput said the incident is frustrating as it's not the first time he's seen or heard of accidents happening on the same stretch of road.

"This stretch of road is notorious for crashes," Chaput said.

"It's every year. People from Watson [Lake] don't want to go to Whitehorse to get their groceries or whatever they have to do because that road is always bad."

The petition to the Yukon government asks whether people are "tired of Swift River section not being properly maintained."

Chaput said copies of the petition have been given to local businesses around Watson Lake. He's unsure how many signatures it's gotten so far.

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Yukon Government's department of highways and public works said that stretch of road "can be particularly challenging due to its curve and higher elevation."

Weather and road conditions in this area can change quickly, sometimes differing from other parts of the highway. In icy conditions, the combination of elevation and the curve can increase the risk of sliding," wrote Krysten Johnson.

She said the department was aware of the Jan. 5 collision and expressed sympathy to the people involved.

"Crews sanded and plowed this section of road in the afternoon ensuring that both lanes were treated with sand, before the end of shift," Johnson said.