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A 35-year-old man has been charged in connection with the death of an off-duty Alberta RCMP officer who was killed when he was hit by a vehicle while cycling on a gravel road just west of Edson on Wednesday night.

The member has been identified as Const. Austin MacDougall.

Mounties responded around 9 p.m. to Range Road 181, about three kilometres west of Edson, where MacDougall was pronounced dead on scene. Edson is about 185 kilometres west of Edmonton on Highway 16.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the collision was arrested at the scene, RCMP said.

On Thursday, the Town of Edson lowered its flags to half-mast.

“Const. MacDougall was very involved in the community and the Town of Edson sends condolences to his family and to the RCMP detachment at this time,” read a statement from the Town of Edson.

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“It’s very tragic and our whole emergency services world is kind of in disbelief,” Al Schram, director of protective services for the Town of Edson, said on Thursday. “We lost a family member and it’s hard.”

On Thursday evening, the RCMP said Justin Lyle Jensen of Yellowhead County was driving the vehicle involved in the collision and has been charged with impaired driving causing death and refusing to comply with the demands of a peace officer.

Jensen has been conditionally released on bail and is scheduled to appear in Edson Provincial Court on July 18.

“You have the victim, but you also have the families involved on both sides and of course the members of the RCMP and everybody in the community,” Edson town councillor Janet Wilkinson said. “It’s a real tragedy.

“This member was very involved in the community and his loss will be felt very deeply.” Tweet This

“It is that reminder that we’re all human and these things can happen,” Schram said. “We’re going to be there to support, that’s what we do. We’ll support each other through this and we’ll get through this together.”

It’s been a deadly week on Alberta highways. Including MacDougall’s death, eight people have been killed and 13 others injured since Canada Day.

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