Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 09/00) - RCMP roadblocks helped ensure last weekend's annual teen party at Cameron Lake was safe, but there was little they could do to prevent a highway fatality near Rae-Edzo.

Throughout the long weekend, roadblocks stopped hundreds of vehicles to check for drinking and driving along the Ingraham Trail.

Sgt. Terry Scott said the roadblocks were a complete success with only one individual being given a 24-hour suspension from driving.

"This is a notoriously bad weekend for motor vehicle accidents and fatalities," he explained.

While police were busy on the Ingraham Trail, however, a Yellowknife man died when his mini-van rolled on Highway 3 at about 11 p.m. Friday.

Michael Proulx, 49, his wife and son were returning from a campsite on the north end of Great Slave Lake when the accident happened.

Proulx was pronounced dead at the scene, about 46 kilometres southwest of Rae-Edzo.

Police say the vehicle hit the shoulder of the road, rolled into a ditch and into a roadside pond. Proulx's wife and son were taken to hospital and later released.

The August long weekend claimed the lives of three teenagers last year when their car drove off the road and flipped into a small lake on the Ingraham Trail.

The youth were on their way to a drinking party that has traditionally been held during at Cameron Lake Falls on the August long weekend.

Three of the five youth were unable to get out of the car and drowned. Alcohol was later found to be a factor in the accident.

"Somehow (the party) started over the years on this weekend," Scott said. "Friday, there were a lot of people going to Cameron Falls but they were all with sober drivers all the way through."

Scott concluded that even though police were also busy with the Governor General's visit in Yellowknife patrolling the downtown, the roadblock effort remained successful. Three to four members were on the Ingraham Trail Friday, Saturday and Monday.

"So, it proves everyone's heeded our warnings and were really happy to see us out," he said.