{"id":816005,"date":"2026-07-21T08:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816005\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T08:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:50:09","slug":"cfl-player-jayden-dalke-dies-in-crash-after-driving-wrong-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816005\/","title":{"rendered":"CFL player Jayden Dalke dies in crash after driving wrong way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Canadian Football League linebacker Jayden Dalke was killed in a car crash Saturday night. <\/p>\n<p>He was 30 years old.<\/p>\n<p>The Saskatchewan Roughriders captain was driving the wrong way on the highway before the crash, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a news release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/saskatchewan\/fatal-crash-roughrider-jayden-dalke-bhishma-rajyaguru-9.7276759\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">shared with multiple outlets<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The crash also killed fellow driver Bhishma Rajyaguru, 22.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of the crash, Dalke was returning to Regina after spending the Roughriders\u2019 bye week in Leduc, his hometown.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40042379\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tribute-late-saskatchewan-roughriders-player-135034285.jpg\" alt=\"Football players practice on a field under a scoreboard displaying a tribute to late Roughriders player Jayden Dalke.\" class=\"wp-image-40042379\"  \/>A tribute to late Saskatchewan Roughriders player Jayden Dalke is displayed during a Roughriders Canadian Football League practice at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Monday, July 20, 2026. Kayle Neis\/The Canadian Press via AP<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis and alcohol were in Dalke\u2019s vehicle at the time of the crash. <\/p>\n<p>The RCMP received a report at approximately 8:30 pm CST of a silver SUV leaving a gas station without paying for fuel. <\/p>\n<p>It was the same SUV involved in the crash about 30 minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is with tremendous sadness that we share the tragic news of Jayden\u2019s passing,\u201d the league said in a statement on Monday. \u201cHe was a passionate competitor who played with incredible heart. Off the field, he will be remembered for his leadership in the locker room and his dedication to the community. The CFL has lost a teammate, a Canadian brother and a friend. On behalf of the Board of Governors, our CFL family and the entire Canadian football community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Jayden\u2019s family, friends, the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization and all those whose lives were bettered through knowing him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dalke was drafted 54th overall by Saskatchewan out of the University of Alberta in the sixth round of the 2022 CFL Canadian Draft. <\/p>\n<p>He was a part of the 2025 Grey Cup-winning team that brought home the fifth championship in franchise history.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40042487\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2281737763.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up of a football player in a green and white uniform with &quot;SASKATCHEWAN 99&quot; written on it.\" class=\"wp-image-40042487\"  \/>Jayden Dalke of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is pictured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA relentless warrior on the field, Jayden\u2019s determination, toughness and work ethic inspired his teammates, who cared deeply for him and are heartbroken by his passing,\u201d the team shared in a statement. \u201cOn and off the field, he was the true definition of what it means to be a Saskatchewan Roughrider.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur hearts go out to the entire Dalke family, who travelled the country to watch Jayden live his dream. We will miss him terribly and will never forget the impact he had on our lives and our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadian Football League linebacker Jayden Dalke was killed in a car crash Saturday night. He was 30 years&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,12375,82],"class_list":["post-816005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-deaths","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}