RCMP say it could take months to find out what happened in the crash near Carberry and what caused it
They had left earlier that morning, getting on a bus to go to the casino for the day.
But they never made it there.
Late Thursday morning, a semi-trailer truck hit a bus as it crossed an intersection in southwestern Manitoba. Fifteen of the 25 people on the bus, most of them seniors, were killed.
The RCMP said that 10 more bus passengers were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Since the crash, which killed four people, people in the western Manitoba town where the victims lived have been upset.
What else do we know so far about what happened and what will happen next?
How did the crash happen
RCMP said that a semi-trailer truck hit the bus as it was going south on Highway 5 and crossing the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Mounties said Friday that after looking at the dashcam footage from the larger vehicle, they were sure that the semi had the right of way.
At a news conference, Supt. Rob Lasson, the officer in charge of major crime services for the Manitoba RCMP, said that what police saw on the video was backed up by what other drivers told them.
Lasson said, “Right now, we are not pointing fingers or putting blame on anyone.” “We’re just telling the truth as we know it.”
At the place where the crash happened, the speed limit on both highways is 100 km/h.
Where did it happen
The intersection where the two cars crashed is just north of Carberry, a small town in southwestern Manitoba about 160 kilometers west of Winnipeg. It is surrounded by fields.
Who was in the vehicles
Lasson said Friday that there were 25 people on the bus that crashed. There were 19 women and 6 men on the bus, and their ages ranged from 58 to 88.
Fifteen of them died, and ten of them were taken to the hospital.
WATCH | The RCMP is putting together the pieces of a tragic accident:
The vehicle had left the Dauphin Active Living Centre Thursday morning and was headed to the Sand Hills Casino near Carberry, which is about 150 kilometers south of the city of Dauphin.
A worker at the active living center said that seniors and other people from Dauphin, which has a population of about 8,000, often take bus trips to nearby events and casinos.
The truck at the scene was a Day & Ross, which was written on the side.
William Doherty, the CEO of Day & Ross, said in a statement on Thursday that the company was “heartbroken” by what had happened and would help the investigation in every way possible.
Lasson said Friday that the truck driver had been let out of the hospital and had talked to police. As of Friday, the bus driver was still in the hospital, so police hadn’t talked to them yet, according to Lasson.
Where are the survivors
As of Friday, the 10 survivors, six women and four men between the ages of early 60s and late 80s, were still in the hospital at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and the regional health center in the city of Brandon in southwestern Manitoba.
This is what the RCMP and Shared Health, which is in charge of how health care is given in Manitoba, say.
Two planes, 14 critical care medical staff, and two helicopters from the STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) air ambulance service all went to the crash site to help.
Brian Schoonbaert, the chief executive officer for the Prairie Mountain Health region, which includes southwestern Manitoba, told CBC News that as of late Friday afternoon, only one of the six crash victims was still in the Brandon hospital. This person’s condition was stable, and the others were moved to Winnipeg.
Shared Health said on Friday that four of the survivors were in a surgical unit and six of them were in a critical care unit. They are being treated for “a variety of serious injuries,” mostly to the head and limbs.
How often do accidents happen at this corner
A provincial spokesperson said Friday that there had only been one fatal accident at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 since 2012. That accident happened on Thursday.
From 2012 to 2021, which was the last year for which exact numbers were available, there were a total of 29 accidents there, and 12 of them led to someone getting hurt.
The spokesperson said that seven of these were with animals and 22 were with cars.
What happens now
Now that all 10 survivors have been found, Lasson said Friday that anyone else on the bus is “presumed to be dead.” All of the victims’ families have been told what happened.
Dr. John Younes, the chief medical examiner for the province of Manitoba, said that it’s hard to tell who died in the crash just by looking at them because they had serious injuries. His office is trying to find out who they are by using fingerprints, dental records, medical history, and DNA comparison, among other things.
The Manitoba RCMP also said that they have asked their Saskatchewan counterparts for help in looking into the crash, which has been compared to the 2018 Humboldt Broncos tragedy.
Even though police are still looking into what happened, that doesn’t mean they will have answers soon.
Lasson said that it could take up to three months for the Mounties to share the results of their investigation. He also said that the time frame will depend on how long the survivors stay in the hospital and what information the police find as they work.
Both the truck and the bus have been taken away to be looked at. Lasson said that the RCMP is also trying to find out if the semi had an event data recorder, which could give information like speed, coordinates, and the state of the vehicle’s mechanics.
At the same time, people in Dauphin are trying to deal with the deaths and injuries that have happened there.
David Bosiak, the mayor of the city, said, “Almost 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.”
WATCH | Help centers for victims’ families are now open:
At the Trinity Lutheran Church in Dauphin, there is now a place for families to get help. Lasson said that a second place to get help has been set up in Winnipeg.
Mounties are asking people to send them any videos or information that could help them figure out what happened.