A 66-year-old Yorkton man is facing charges of dangerous and impaired driving causing death in the drowning of two passengers of a pickup truck that slid into the Whitesand River last year.
On Wednesday, RCMP charged James McDougall in the deaths of 73-year-old Nick Zenkewich from Yorkton and an 84-year-old Yorkton man whose name has not been released.
Last July, emergency crews responded to a call about a pickup truck that had become submerged in the Whitesand River, about five kilometres north of Springside, Sask.
Investigators believe the vehicle entered a gully where the river was flowing over a gravel road. The current swept the vehicle off the road and into the river.
The driver managed to escape from the vehicle and swam to shore, where he called a local resident for help.
RCMP arrested the driver shortly after the incident. He was later released without charges.
On the same day of the arrest, Zenkewhich's body was recovered from the pickup truck. RCMP divers later found the body of the 84-year-old man about one kilometer down the river.
McDougall is charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and four counts of impaired driving causing death.
He is set to appear in court Thursday in Canora, Sask.
