“Just knowing that other people care about us here is very important,” says the mayor of Dauphin
At the scene of one of the deadliest accidents in Manitoba, there are tire marks, burned grass, and pieces of broken glass.
But now there is a weight and grief in a community that is trying to understand how 15 people died and 10 more were hurt.
David Bosiak, the mayor of Dauphin, said, “Everyone in town knows someone who was on that bus.” “Right now, we just have to deal with how big this is and how it affects everyone.”
On Thursday morning, a semi-trailer truck and a bus with 25 mostly elderly people from Dauphin and the surrounding area crashed on the Trans-Canada Highway at Highway 5, just north of Carberry.
On a day trip from Dauphin, the bus was going to a casino in Carberry. At 11:45 a.m., emergency workers were called to the scene, where witnesses said smoke and flames were coming from the front of the small bus and the front of the semi.
As police and firefighters worked on the victims, they covered the ground with tarps and blocked the public’s view of certain areas.
The bus and truck drivers are among the people who made it out alive.Rob Lasson, the head of the RCMP, said that it looks like the bus was going south on Highway 5 and crossing the Trans-Canada Highway when it was hit.
He wouldn’t say what caused or led up to the crash, but he did say that the investigation is still going on and that criminal charges are a possibility.
Both directions of the Trans-Canada Highway were fully open again just before 3 a.m. on Friday.
When asked how his town was doing Friday morning, Bosiak said only one word: “Shock.” Sadness. Concern.”
People have been getting a lot of words of support, which have helped them deal with some of their strong feelings, he said.
“It’s been really overwhelming, from both far and close. People from coast to coast have reached out to us,” Bosiak said.
“It will be difficult. Yes, this is a very hard job. But it’s really important to know that others care about us here.
In Dauphin, Manitoba, a town of about 8,000 people about 150 km north of Carberry, a family support center has been set up in the Trinity Lutheran Church.
“Right now, we’re doing the best we can,” Bosiak said. “As the day goes on, tomorrow, next week, and beyond, people will deal with it in their own ways.”
“At this time, it’s hard to be positive, but I’d say that our community is close and strong, and we’ll get through it. Even though it will be hard and hurt a lot of people, the sun will rise tomorrow.
“That’s hard to see right now because everything seems so dark and gloomy.”
The accident has been compared to the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, in which 16 people died and 13 were hurt when the bus hit a semi-trailer on a rural Saskatchewan highway.
When looking into the Manitoba crash, the RCMP in Manitoba say they will ask their counterparts in Saskatchewan for help. At the same time, Bosiak has asked Humboldt for help setting up support for his community.
He has talked to a few people from the town in Saskatchewan about how they dealt with things right after the disaster.
“We’re just trying to figure out if people will want to meet and gather somewhere.Will there be a reason to do that? Will people want to do that alone or with others?” he asked.
“So those are the things about which we are being as careful as we can be. We don’t know what to do, so we just try not to do anything wrong.
The Active Living Centre for Seniors is right next to Dauphin’s city hall. Bosiak said that city officials will talk to the center to find out what they are planning and how they can work together.
“It’s just a matter of connecting, talking, and giving people time to grieve,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Bosiak thinks that people in his town who are in that dark and sad place need to know that people are thinking about them. Right now, it’s the only thing that can help.
“Just reach out to them if you know someone from Dauphin, if you used to live here, or if you know someone who lives here now,” he said. “That could be a phone call, a message, an email, or anything else.”
“Right now, just letting us know you’re thinking about us is very important, and we’d really appreciate that.”