Saskatchewan Roughriders' C.J. Avery, left, hugs teammate Jayden Dalke as they celebrate their win over the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th CFL Grey Cup in Winnipeg in November, 2025.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Mounties say Saskatchewan Roughrider player Jayden Dalke was driving on the wrong side of a highway, with alcohol and cannabis in his SUV, when his vehicle crashed into another, killing himself and a second driver.
RCMP say 30-year-old Dalke of Leduc, Alta., and 22-year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru from Regina died in the Saturday night crash on Highway 11 near Lumsden, northwest of Regina.
There were no passengers in the vehicles. Mounties say autopsies and toxicology tests would be done in the investigation.
Lumsden’s fire department said it responded to a crash about 9 p.m. and found one vehicle in the median of the divided highway and the other in a ditch.
They said other motorists stopped and tried to revive one of the men.
On Monday, the Roughriders held a news conference to remember Dalke.
Saskatchewan Roughriders’ linebacker Jayden Dalke dies in car accident
The linebacker was a sixth-round pick in the 2022 CFL draft out of the University of Alberta. He appeared in 68 career regular-season games, registering 69 tackles, 31 special-teams tackles, three forced fumbles, an interception and a sack.
Dalke appeared in all 18 regular-season games for Saskatchewan in 2025 as well as the West final and the club’s 25-17 Grey Cup win over the Montreal Alouettes.
“Jayden was a loved teammate,” said Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day. “You never left the conversation with Jayden where you didn’t feel happy.
“He loved what he was doing, loved the game of football, loved his teammates.”