Semi driver charged in crash that killed 2 teens near Portage la Prairie

A semi driver is charged after two teenagers died in a crash at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 16 just before 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

A 17-year-old boy from Portage la Prairie, Man., and a woman, 19, from the rural municipality of Alonsa were killed in the crash just west of Portage la Prairie.

Gurjant Singh, 23, of British Columbia has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The two teenagers were in a southbound Kia Forte on Highway 16 when a westbound semi-trailer truck carrying a load of heavy pipes ran a red light at the intersection and hit the car, RCMP said Monday in a news release.

The teens, who were the only people in the Kia, were pronounced dead at the crash scene, police said.

"Last night, RCMP officers had to go tell two families that their children were never coming home," Manitoba RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel said in the release.

"Now those families are reeling, and the bottom line is — they should not have to be. The tragedies we are seeing on the roadways are preventable. Drivers need to slow down and pay attention."

Singh is being held in custody. Alcohol isn't considered a factor in the crash.

The highway was closed for several hours while a fuel leak in the semi was cleaned up.

Sunday's fatal crash comes after a 39-year-old man from Portage la Prairie was killed by a semi when RCMP say he walked out onto the highway near the intersection on Saturday night, and three people — including two boys aged 10 and 13 — died when a minivan collided with a semi near the intersection on Aug. 19.

'Bad corner'

Portage la Prairie Mayor Irvine Ferris said the intersection has been dangerous for years, but it's gotten worse as truck traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway has increased over the last 15 to 20 years.

He wants an overpass built at the intersection.

"It's a bad corner, and these are tragic losses that really didn't need to happen," he said. "Given the traffic volumes there and the fatalities that we've seen both this summer and in the past, I think everyone in Portage would agree we need an overpass at that intersection."

Ferris says the federal government promised to build an overpass at the intersection under former prime minister Stephen Harper, but the plan never came to fruition.