Carberry rallies behind first responders

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This article was published 17/06/2023 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CARBERRY — Standing behind the till of a Carberry gas station Friday, Matthew Salyn points to a photo in the newspaper that shows first responders at the scene of a horrific crash. He knows nearly all of them.

“That’s who everyone in Carberry is concerned for. I’m proud that they were willing to (help),” Salyn said.

The volunteer firefighters of the Carberry North Cypress-Langford Fire and Rescue were among the dozens of first responders and health-care workers who rushed to the scene of a collision between a minibus and a semi-truck just before noon Thursday.

The bus was taking seniors from the Dauphin area to a casino just south of Carberry when the crash happened at the busy intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5.

Fifteen people died and 10 others were in hospital being treated for serious injuries.

Carberry, a close-knit town of 1,800 people, is rallying behind their friends and family who were bystanders or first responders who tried to save lives.

They’re also calling for traffic lights to be put up at the intersection they say is dangerous.

“That intersection was never built right,” said farmer Derek Dickson, hopping off his combine to discuss the intersection located a few yards north of his family’s land. “It’s way too narrow. It should have lights.”

Dickson was spraying crops in the field next to the Trans-Canada just before noon Thursday when he noticed a plume of smoke and first responders arriving. He saw a blanket on the ground, most likely covering the body of a victim. He turned on his radio to tell others in the area: “This is bad.”

Dickson and his father Don said they know a young woman who was a bystander who tried to help. She’s devastated by what she experienced, they say. They call what happened a nightmare.

The father and son said they estimate 70 semi-trucks pull off Trans-Canada Highway to drive south on Highway 5 each day, the same direction the bus full of seniors was heading. Many are en route to the nearby potato processing plant, they said.

“There isn’t even enough room for a semi (in the intersection),” Don said. “It’s stupid.”

Don said drivers sometimes try to help each other navigate the roadway, waving one another through, something he said is unsafe.

A semi-truck, which RCMP said Friday had the right of way, was travelling eastbound on the Trans-Canada when it struck the southbound minibus.

At the intersection, southbound and northbound vehicles need to cross two lanes of traffic in each direction. There is only a narrow space between the eastbound and westbound lanes. The speed limit is 100 km/h.

The Winnipeg Free Press spent much of Friday afternoon at the intersection.

Numerous times, semi-trailers blocked lanes while trying to turn off the Trans-Canada onto Highway 5; vehicles heading north or south sometimes doubled up in the median as they waited for a break in traffic. At least four school buses crossed the Trans-Canada.

Statistics provided by MPI, which were taken from claims data, show there were 29 collisions at the intersection from 2012 to 2021. One person died and 12 were injured.

“While complete data for 2022 and 2023 is not readily available, MPI can confirm that no fatal collisions occurred at this intersection in these years prior to the collision on June 15, 2023,” said MPI spokesperson Kristy Rydz.

The Manitoba government did not answer a question about whether the infrastructure department had considered making this a controlled intersection with traffic lights or putting in place other measures to improve it.

A spokesperson noted there are rumble strips leading to the northbound and southbound stop signs, which have flashing lights. Yield signs are installed in the median of the Trans-Canada to caution vehicles passing through or exiting the median.

“For drivers headed east/west on Highway 1, there are intersection signs and community signs for Carberry approaching the intersection from both the east and the west,” the government spokesperson said.

At the scene Friday, a small, a makeshift memorial included a flower pot and three bouquets. A woman stopped her car nearby and dropped off a bouquet of flowers, heading back to her vehicle a moment later.

Evidence of the crash was all but gone Friday, save for skid marks and a 20-metre by 20-metre patch of charred grass southeast of the intersection. A downed stop sign was re-installed by provincial workers late in the day.

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead posted a condolence message on Facebook.

“Nothing can prepare any of us for a tragedy of this magnitude, and we are trying the best that we can to manage the situation,” Muirhead wrote. He noted fatal incidents such as this can have a lasting impact. He shared resources for those struggling in the aftermath.

He praised the “tremendous efforts” of the volunteer fire department, saying the town was proud of them.

At the fire hall Friday afternoon, about a dozen firefighters gathered. A few slowly hosed off the floor of the hall. Some spoke with a police officer who stopped by.

It was too soon to talk, one firefighter told the Free Press.

Still, the community will soon have a chance to support them. The annual “Texas breakfast” fundraiser will go ahead at the fire hall today.

“We appreciate everyone’s concern for our well-being, but we ask that out of respect for the victims and their families and for the sake of our members, that if you attend our event, please do not ask us about the incident,” the fire department wrote in a post on Facebook.

“The outpouring of support for our department has been incredible, and we know that everyone is thinking about us at this time. We have received messages from around the world.”

They asked for privacy as the members “work through the aftermath of this call.”

» Winnipeg Free Press