Fifteen people are dead and 10 others have been taken to hospital after a bus collided with a semi truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man.
Manitoba RCMP said around 11:43 a.m. Thursday, officers received a report that a bus carrying approximately 25 people collided with a semi truck at Highway 1 and Highway 5, near the Town of Carberry – a community two hours west of Winnipeg.
A map showing the location of Carberry, Man.
Manitoba RCMP Commanding Officer Rob Hill said as of Thursday evening, the crash has left 15 people dead, with 10 other people being taken to hospital with injuries. Hill said the people on the bus are from Dauphin and the surrounding area – most of them were seniors.
“This is a day in Manitoba and across Canada that will be remembered as one of tragedy and incredible sadness,” Hill said.
A spokesperson for Sand Hills Casino in Carberry has confirmed the bus was en route to the casino.
Images from the scene show a semi truck with its front end crumpled and burned, and what appears to be the burnt shell of a bus in the ditch. Emergency crews were seen placing blankets on the bodies of victims lying on the road.
‘IT WAS HORRIBLE’: RESIDENTS DESCRIBE SCENE OF CRASH, BURNING VEHICLE
Tracy Leitch was driving along the Trans-Canada Highway around noon Thursday when she came upon the scene of the crash.
“Before we got up to the scene, we (had) seen a lot of smoke,” she said.
At the scene she said she saw a semi-truck with its front end crumpled and smoking, and the bus which she said was badly damaged.
“There was nothing left of the vehicle,” she said, saying she has never seen a crash like this before. “I was almost in tears and almost had a panic attack. Like I just felt really sick to my stomach.”
Nirmesh Vadera, who was working in the area around the time of the crash, said he saw a semi-truck and what he said appeared to be a passenger vehicle that was burning.
“I can’t describe it, because I’ve never saw this much flame and all the accident,” he said. “People were trying to save themselves and… medical staff, fire staff – they were helping them to get out. It is hard to describe, but it was horrible.”
CRASH ECHOES 2018 HUMBOLDT TRAGEDY, RCMP SAYS
Two STARS air ambulances were called to the scene of the crash – one from Winnipeg and one from Regina, along with other emergency responders who were flown out to the area. STARS said in total, 14 of its medical crew members were responding.
Officials said in addition to this, 12 ambulances were on scene transporting victims to hospital in Winnipeg.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, RCMP said all available resources were deployed to respond to the mass casualty crash.
Police have set up a family support centre in the basement of the Lutheran Church at 2 Kirby Avenue East in Dauphin, where officers are meeting with family members of victims and answering questions.
“I also want to acknowledge there are many people in Dauphin in the surrounding areas who are anxiously awaiting news about a loved one,” Hill said. “To all those waiting, I can’t imagine how difficult it is not knowing if the person you love the most will be making it home tonight.”
Superintendent Rob Lasson, the officer in charge major crime services with the Manitoba RCMP, said the crash has echoes of the 2018 crash in Humboldt, Saskatchewan – in which 16 people died and 13 were injured.
“We have already linked into the investigators in Saskatchewan who have first-hand experience and were some of the primary investigators in the investigation into the Humboldt crash,” Lasson said, adding they are helping with the investigation.
“Even at the outset of an investigation such as this, we need to be alive to the fact that there could be wrongdoing and if so, there could be a criminal element to this investigation.”
William Doherty, the CEO of Day & Ross trucking company – which was involved in the crash, said they are heartbroken by the tragic news.
“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,” Doherty said in a statement to CTV News.
“We will fully cooperate with the investigation and offer any assistance and support that we can.”
CRASH PROMPTED CODE ORANGE AS HOSPITALS ACROSS MANITOBA RESPOND
The crash prompted Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in Winnipeg to declare a code orange for a mass casualty incident just after noon Thursday. A statement from Shared Health said HSC as well as hospitals in Brandon, Prairie Mountain Health and the Winnipeg Health Region were prepared to receive patients.
“Paramedics and first responders spend their entire careers preparing for a day like this, hoping it will never come – today it came,” said Jennifer Cumpsty, the executive director of acute health services at HSC. “All of them did their jobs with the utmost skill and professionalism.”
A STARS Helicopter is seen landing at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre on June 15, 2023. A serious crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man. has killed at least 15 people, according to sources. (Image source: Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)
Cumpsty confirmed the code orange ended Thursday evening.
‘OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN’: PRIME MINISTER, MANITOBA PREMIER RESPOND TO DEADLY CRASH
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the crash Thursday afternoon, calling the situation incredibly tragic.
“I’m sending my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones today, and I’m keeping the injured in my thoughts,” he said in a statement on Twitter. “I cannot imagine the pain those affected are feeling – but Canadians are here for you.”
Premier Heather Stefanson issued a statement Thursday afternoon, praising first responders and offering condolences to people impacted by the crash.
“Our hearts are broken, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all the lives impacted by the horrific and devastating tragedy near the Town of Carberry,” the premier said in a written statement, Stefanson said the flags at Manitoba’s legislative building will be lowered to half-mast out of respect to the victims.
Ray Muirhead, the Mayor of Carberry, said the town council is in shock.
“Our thoughts are in support of anyone that has been impacted by this tragic event,” he said in a written statement.
Muirhead also asked that people stay away from the area to allow first responders to work.
According to Manitoba 511, the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada highway at Highway 5 remain closed, but a detour is in effect using service roads.
The westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway at Highway 5 are open.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.
Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.
Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.
“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”
Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.
Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.
Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.
Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).
“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”
Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.
Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.
“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.
UP NEXT
Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.
Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”
The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.
King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”
SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.
The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.
Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.
Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”
He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.
In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
