Students injured in school bus rollover

Four teens suffered serious injuries when a school bus carrying 14 students rolled while trying to pass another bus on an icy highway north of Swan River Tuesday morning, RCMP say.

Some students were reportedly ejected from the bus, which belongs to Sapotaweyak Cree Nation’s education authority, when it rolled into a snow-filled ditch on Highway 10, about 13 kilometres south of Mafeking, shortly after 8:30 a.m.

The students, aged 16 to 18, and the bus driver were treated for injuries at the scene and taken to Swan Valley Health Centre for assessment and further treatment.

RCMP said four patients suffered “significant but non-life-threatening injuries” in the rollover.

The four patients were being transported by air to Health Sciences Centre in stable condition on Tuesday — three to Children’s Hospital and one to adult emergency, Dr. Chris Christodoulou, Shared Health’s interim president and CEO, and Prairie Mountain Health CEO Treena Slate said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the students, families, and community members affected by this incident and we are working collaboratively to ensure appropriate medical care and mental health supports are in place for those involved,” the officials said in the statement.

Families were with the injured students at the hospital as assessments continued during the day, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation Chief Nelson Genaille told the Sun.

“The families are all here. I’m at the hospital right now with them, so they’re looking after everything,” he said.

Genaille said all students sustained some level of injury.

“Actually, all of them are injured. It’s just a matter of the severity of it,” he said. “A couple of students were airlifted. It’s still being assessed.”

He said icy and slippery road conditions, including black ice, appear to have contributed to the crash and praised first responders for their rapid response.

“Everybody — the EMS people, first responders — they acted in a very professional way, very expeditedly,” Genaille said.

The rollover occurred when the driver of the school bus, travelling south on the highway, attempted to pass another bus and lost control, RCMP said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

“The bus went off the highway, rolled and then came to a stop when it was right-side-up,” RCMP said. “Road conditions were believed to be slippery at the time of the incident. A Manitoba RCMP forensic reconstructionist has been deployed to the scene and continue the investigation.”

A family room was established at Swan Valley Health Centre, with mental health supports available on site, the statement from Christodoulou and Slate said, adding that family members seeking information should call 204-734-3441.

The officials expressed appreciation for the work of first responders, health-care teams and mental health staff, and acknowledged the impact of the incident on the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation.

They said no further updates on patient conditions would be provided at this time to respect patient privacy.

Shared Health declared a code orange at Health Sciences Centre, including Children’s Hospital, while Prairie Mountain Health declared the same status at Swan Valley Health Centre.

Swan Valley School Division Supt. Rob Tomlinson said the bus was transporting the students to Swan Valley Regional Secondary School and Northern Lights Institute of Trades and Technology.

“All individuals were assessed at the scene and transported to Swan Valley Health Centre for further evaluation,” he said of the students and driver.

Frankie Gott, a teacher at Chief Charles Audy Memorial School in Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, said he and the vice-principal rushed to the crash scene after being erroneously told that one of its school buses rolled.

“I was scared to see that bus in the ditch, upright,” Gott said.

When he arrived at the scene, he was told the bus from Sapotaweyak rolled three times after attempting to pass a school bus from Wuskwi Sipihk. He was told three students were ejected.

“(The bus) apparently lost control and veered to the left side (of the highway),” Gott said.

He and others checked on injured children, who went into the bus from Wuskwi Sipihk after the rollover. Some had visible cuts.

“They were battered and bruised and sore,” Gott said. “The look of shock (on their faces) is hard to explain. It could have been so much worse.”

He said students and the bus driver from Wuskwi Sipihk were in shock after witnessing the rollover and aftermath.

“To see something like that is traumatizing for everybody,” said Gott, who also checked on the bus driver from Sapotaweyak. “The bus driver said he was doing OK.”

Premier Wab Kinew, speaking to reporters in Gimli, said the crash led to some “pretty scary injuries,” and said he had spoken with Genaille to offer whatever support was needed.

Kinew said he is open to changing bus safety rules, including adding seatbelts, but more needs be known about what happened first.

“What was the cause of this accident? What were the nature of the injuries? What would be the safety measure that would come out of it?” said Kinew.

“We’ve got to get that (information) before we go to the next level.”

Rural Manitoba school bus driver Jodi Ruta said shivers went down her spine when she learned about the rollover.

She recently met with Education Department staff as part of her campaign to make seatbelts mandatory on Manitoba’s school buses.

“We’ve known for many years that school buses should have seatbelts in them because they will protect children better in cases exactly like this,” she said.

“We’re lucky there were no deaths. The longer this takes to get seatbelts in school buses, the more injuries there are going to be, and the more probability for death, with our absolutely most precious cargo.”

»aodutola@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press and The Canadian Press

» X: @AbiolaOdutola