Heartbreaking end to agonizing wait RCMP confirm families’ fears, say trucker had right-of-way By: Chris Kitching & Katie May Posted: 12:51 PM CDT Saturday, Jun. 17, 2023 Last Modified: 12:54 PM CDT Saturday, Jun. 17, 2023

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The families of 15 seniors who died in a fiery crash between a bus and a semi-trailer near Carberry were given the heartbreaking news about their loved ones Friday, bringing an end to an agonizing wait for answers.

Supt. Rob Lasson said those who died hadn’t been individually identified. Families were told that if their loved ones were on the bus but aren’t in hospital, they are dead.

“For the last few hours, RCMP members have been having very difficult conversations with family members, unfortunately notifying them that their loved one is among the 15 believed to be deceased,” said Lasson, who is in charge of the major crimes unit. “These are answers, but obviously not the kind of answers people were hoping for.”

Riley Wiebe’s family was at a total loss after being informed late Friday morning that his 87-year-old grandmother, Claudia Zurba, was among the 15 killed in the crash at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5.

They knew Zurba was on the bus, which was headed from Dauphin to the Sand Hills Casino with 25 people on board, but were waiting for more information about her status.

The wait was difficult, but his family understood that time would be needed to ensure relatives were given accurate information, given that two victims were misidentified during the 2018 tragedy involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, Wiebe said.

“As a family waiting for answers, it’s just as tough knowing how hard the first responders are working on saving as many lives as possible,” Wiebe told the Free Press via Facebook Messenger.

“We were hoping for the best, planning for the worst and there are so many emotions experienced words cannot describe. As one of the 25 victims’ families affected, we support each other the best we could as we know all other families were doing the best they could, too.

“We gave the first responders the space to do their job and we thank all the first responders and medical team for all they are doing to support us in this shocking time.”

Wiebe said his family is focusing on happy memories of his grandmother and supporting each other as they grieve.

RCMP confirmed the victims range in age from 58 to 88 years old. There were 19 women and six men on the bus.

Manitoba’s chief medical examiner, Dr. John K. Younes, said his staff will use methods such as fingerprint analysis, dental records and surgical history to confirm the identities of the 15 who died because visual confirmation was not possible due to the injuries.

DNA would be used as a last resort, he said.

Younes hopes to have all 15 victims positively identified by the middle of next week.

At a news conference, Lasson said the bus, which was southbound on Highway 5, entered the intersection when the semi-trailer, which was headed east on the Trans-Canada, had the right of way.

Dashcam video from the truck was reviewed and corroborated by witnesses, he said.

Officers don’t know why the bus proceeded into the eastbound lanes, where the speed limit is 100 km/h, and the investigation could take many months to complete, Lasson said.

Traffic on Highway 5 is controlled by stop signs and flashing lights in both directions at the intersection.

He stressed the force is not assigning culpability or blame and the investigation is ongoing.

Investigators hope to obtain information such as the truck’s speed and its mechanical status if it was equipped with an event data recorder.

Investigators had spoken to the truck driver, who has been released from hospital, Lasson said.

The driver of the bus had not been interviewed because he was being treated in hospital.

He is one of 10 patients — six women and four men — who remained at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg or Brandon Regional Health Centre.

“Manitoba experienced one of the worst tragedies this province has ever seen,” Shared Health CEO Lanette Siragusa said while providing an update on the survivors. “There are no words to express the tragic nature of this incident or to properly acknowledge the impact that this type of event has had on families, first responders, health care teams and entire communities.

“Our thoughts are with and will remain with all those involved, those who are lost and now who are being grieved by loved ones, those who are fighting for their lives with loved ones at their side, and with the multitude of individuals, teams and agencies that played an enormous and vital part of this response.”

Six patients were in critical condition. Four were in a surgical care unit.

The patients’ injuries are extensive, and their age could affect their ability to recover, said Dr. Shawn Young, HSC’s chief operating officer.

“Recoveries will be long, and of course, it’ll be complicated,” he said.

Family support centres have been set up in Dauphin and Winnipeg.

Flags were lowered in communities across Manitoba, while people used the #dauphinstrong hashtag in social media posts that offered condolences and words of support.

Three seniors involved in the bus crash are tenants of St. George’s Place, a retirement home in Dauphin.

Milton Mykolaishyn, with the home, said staff were not sure of their condition and were waiting for updates from family.

The three seniors are active members of the retirement home’s community, and everyone is in shock, he said.

A priest was on site talking with other residents, especially those who were supposed to be on the bus but had to cancel because of medical appointments, said Mykolaishyn.

The bus was operated by Dauphin-based Quality Care Transit.

“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to families and friends of our beloved clients and to our community as we work through this heart-wrenching situation,” a post on Quality Care’s Facebook page stated. “My heart aches for everyone that was involved.”

Quality Care Transit was registered by two people in December, Companies Office records show.

A May 8 post announced the acquisition of a 25-passenger wheelchair-accessible bus that could be used for purposes such as medical appointments, airport runs, shopping, socials or church functions.

An advertisement for the casino day trip said the bus would depart the Dauphin Active Living Centre at 9:30 a.m. and return at 7:30 p.m.

William Doherty, CEO of Day & Ross, which operated the semi-trailer, said everyone at the transport company is heartbroken over the crash.

“The thoughts of the entire Day & Ross team are with those who have lost loved ones in this terrible incident, and we are holding out hope that those injured will recover,” he said in a statement. “At this time, we have limited details from the scene and will not have any further comment until more is known.

“We will fully co-operate with the investigation and offer any assistance and support that we can.”

Health officials on Friday saluted everyone involved in the massive response, which included dozens of emergency services personnel, hospital staff and social workers.

About 30 paramedics and 13 ambulances were involved in the scene response. Emergency services personnel from Saskatchewan were also involved, Siragusa told reporters.

Two patients were directly transported to HSC.

Seven more were transported from hospitals in Brandon and Portage la Prairie in the afternoon and evening, using four planes, two helicopters and ground ambulances, said Siragusa.

To create space at HSC, 28 patients were moved to hospitals in other health regions.

Surgical teams postponed about eight elective procedures at HSC and in Brandon so life-saving care could be readily provided to the crash victims.

Dr. Rob Grierson, Shared Health’s chief medical officer of emergency response services, said the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan taught first responders and emergency co-ordinators about how to spring into action like they did Thursday. National emergency response agencies have reached out to help, and those meetings were set to happen Friday, Grierson said.

“So we are getting help from other agencies who’ve been through that before,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the flag will fly at half-mast on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in honour of the crash victims.

He can’t imagine what families are going through, he said.

Trudeau also said the crash brings back terrible memories of the Humboldt Broncos crash that left 16 dead and 13 injured.

In the hours after the crash, which happened shortly before noon Thursday, some family members scrambled for information on their loved ones by waiting outside HSC or showing up to RCMP headquarters to try to find out which hospital they had been taken to.

The crash scene was cleared at 2:25 a.m. Friday and the highway was reopened.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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