First responders hailed for bravery, monument honouring Manitoba's deadliest bus crash unveiled in Carberry
Monument was unveiled in town of Carberry at Sunday afternoon ceremony
A second monument to remember those involved in Manitoba's deadliest bus crash over a year ago was unveiled during a Sunday afternoon ceremony and this one was placed in the town whose firefighters were the first responders to arrive at the crash site.
Seventeen people were killed when a bus carrying 25 people — most of them seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area —headed to a casino near Carberry, Man., for a day trip was hit by a semi at a Trans-Canada Highway intersection on June 15, 2023.
"So many lives were changed that day, and for many of us the following days and weeks and months became a blur of uncertainty," said Patrick Furaklo, whose mother, Margaret, was among those killed.
Furkalo said it was only as time passed that families realized the impact society had on themselves and their loved ones. He said many people stepped up following the tragedy in the community, especially first responders.
"The first responders, whether on the ground or in the air, that brought such professionalism and [care], we thank you," he said. "Anyone that arrived on that horrific scene, that brought safety, dignity and comfort to everyone involved, we thank you."
Lavonne Tyschinski was part of a group that helped plan the memorial and said the meetings they had over the last year were cathartic in the healing process following her mother's death. She said the memorial is a way to thank the community and for them to know how grateful she is that someone was with her mother when the crash happened.
"After today we can move on and continue with the healing process and just have some place that we can go to remember them," she said.
Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead says members of the Carberry North Cypress-Langford Fire Department were some of the first people to respond to the crash, but emergency personnel from across Manitoba came together to care for the people who were on the bus.
That includes fire departments in Neepawa and Brandon, Shared Health's emergency medical services, Manitoba RCMP, the STARS air ambulance, as well as hospitals in Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg, he said.
While the monument unveiled in Dauphin earlier this summer focused on the people who were on the bus, Muirhead said the one in Carberry will focus on the first responders.
"We want to commemorate them because a lot of them [saw] some stuff that nobody would want to see, and some of them have had a hard time with it, so we want to make sure that they're accounted for, too," he told CBC on Saturday.
"We as a community are very proud of each and every one of them for what they've done, and I can't forget too that there were several passersby and people that came across the accident that stopped and helped where they could … so we have to remember those as well."
Premier Wab Kinew revealed during the June ceremony that the province will award those who responded to the crash with the Order of the Buffalo Hunt — the highest honour the premier can bestow.
During Saturday's ceremony, Kinew said the first responders who answered the call that day embody "the best of us."
Kinew also said there's an important responsibility for community to be there for those who are still in mourning or grief, or to support first responders who are still troubled by what they saw that day.
"We will never forget," said Kinew. "Manitoba will remember those who were lost in this terrible tragedy, we will remember those who survived and we will remember those whose acts of valour and heroism helped to embody the best of us and to ensure that those who did survive could find a path toward healing."
Chris Arthur, who offered a tribute to first responders during the ceremony, said it's a privilege and an honour to be there when someone's "world is falling apart," but said it also takes a toll.
"There's a cost to that job, sometimes it's as simple as missing family events and sometimes that cost is part of our soul," he said. "A tragedy like this, many people lose a part of their soul."
Arthur also said first responders run toward tragedy and encouraged them to look after themselves and one another. What they experience, is more than what many will experience their entire lives, he said.
"When you ask someone how their doing if they simply say 'I'm fine,' remember fine means freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional., he said. "There's lots of days where, yeah, we give that answer, 'I'm fine,' and then sometimes somebody says so 'how are you really feeling,' to which the response can be 'how many hours do you have.'"
The newest monument is placed in Carberry's Day Lily Park in the north end of the town.
Muirhead says some of the family members who lost loved ones in the crash helped design the monument. A group of about 60 people from Dauphin are expected to make their way to Carberry for the ceremony.
He said the province covered much of the costs associated with the two monuments, and several businesses, organizations and people in Carberry have made donations for the area surrounding the monument, including a nursery that donated 17 trees in honour of the dead.
"It's going to be quite a nice place."
With files from Erin Brohman