Everything we know about the deadly southwestern Manitoba bus crash

They'd left earlier that morning, getting on a bus for what was supposed to be a day trip to the casino.

But they never made it there.

Sixteen of the 25 people onboard, mostly seniors, were killed after their bus collided with a semi-trailer truck as it crossed a southwestern Manitoba highway intersection late in the morning of June 15.

Fifteen passengers died at the scene, while 10 were taken to hospital with serious injuries — including one who died in the days following the collision, RCMP said.

The deadly crash has shaken people in the western Manitoba community the victims called home.

Here's what else we know so far about what happened — and what comes next.

How did the crash happen?

The bus was going south on Highway 5 and crossing the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway when it was hit by a semi-trailer truck, RCMP said. 

Mounties said the day after the crash they'd confirmed the semi had the right of way after reviewing dashcam footage from the larger vehicle.

Witness statements from passing motorists corroborated what police saw on the video, Supt. Rob Lasson, the Manitoba RCMP's officer in charge of major crime services, said at a news conference.

"We are not assigning culpability or laying any blame at this time," Lasson said. "We are merely stating the facts as we know them."

The posted speed limit on both highways at the intersection where the crash happened is 100 km/h.

Where did it happen?

The intersection where the two vehicles collided is surrounded by fields and located just north of Carberry, a small southwestern Manitoba town about 160 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

Who was in the vehicles?

The bus involved in the crash had 25 people on it — 19 women and six men — ranging in age from 58 to 88, Lasson said the day after the crash.

Fifteen of those people died at the scene and 10 were taken to hospital. One of the people in hospital, a woman who sustained critical injuries in the collision, died in the days following the crash, RCMP said.

Mounties publicly identified those who died in the collision a week after it happened.

Quality Care Transit, which launched in 2022, was the operator of the seniors' 24-seat bus, which left the Dauphin Active Living Centre the morning of the crash.

The company's co-owner was the driver of the vehicle, which was en route to the Sand Hills Casino near Carberry, about 150 kilometres south of the city of Dauphin.

Seniors and community members from Dauphin, which has a population of about 8,000, often go on bus trips to nearby events and casinos, an official with the active living centre said.

The semi at the scene had the name of transport company Day & Ross on its side.

In a statement, Day & Ross Chief Executive Officer William Doherty said the company was "heartbroken" by what happened and would fully co-operate with the investigation.

Lasson said the day after the crash the semi driver had been released from hospital and had spoken with police.

At a news conference on June 19, Lasson said the driver of the bus remained hospitalized, so police hadn't yet spoken with them.

Mounties said both drivers had the proper licences for their vehicles.

Where are the survivors?

As of June 22, the nine survivors — five women and four men — remained in hospital at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and the regional health centre in the southwestern Manitoba city of Brandon.

Four of those survivors were in a critical care unit according to information from the RCMP and Shared Health, which oversees health-care delivery in Manitoba.

Officials previously said the patients — who ranged in age from early 60s to late 80s — were being treated for "a variety of serious injuries," that were largely head and orthopedic injuries.

How many crashes happen at this intersection?

From 2012 up until the crash on June 15, there was only one collision involving a fatality at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, a provincial spokesperson said.

Between 2012 and 2021 — the most recent year where exact data was available — there were a total of 29 crashes there, including 12 where an injury was reported.

Seven of those collisions involved animals and 22 were vehicle crashes, the spokesperson said.

What happens now?

Mounties are continuing their investigation into what caused the crash — and whether anyone is at fault.

That includes continuing a mechanical analysis of both the semi and the bus, and interviewing more survivors of the crash once they're ready, Lasson said on June 22.

Manitoba RCMP also said they'd turned to their Saskatchewan counterparts for help in investigating the mass casualty crash, which has drawn comparisons to the Humboldt Broncos tragedy in 2018.

And while police are continuing their investigation into the collision, that doesn't mean answers will come soon.

Lasson said it could take months for Mounties to be able to share the findings of their investigation, adding the timeline will depend on how long survivors are in hospital and what information police discover as they work.

Meanwhile, people in Dauphin are struggling to come to terms with the deaths and injuries to members of their small community.

"Literally everybody in town knows somebody that was on that bus," said David Bosiak, the city's mayor.

"Right now it's just dealing with the magnitude of this and how everybody is impacted."

Mounties are asking people to share any information or videos that could help with their investigation into the crash.