'Everyone knows someone': Dauphin community grieves, copes in wake of fatal Manitoba crash
Dauphin mayor says city has 'pretty decent idea' of crash victims' identities
Manitobans are grieving and helping each other cope after a fatal crash killed 15 people on a highway in the southwestern part of the province less than a week ago.
On Thursday, a bus carrying 25 people was crossing the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway when it was hit by a semi just north of Carberry, Man., a small town about 160 kilometres west of Winnipeg.
Most of the passengers were seniors from in and around the southwestern Manitoba city of Dauphin — which has a population of about 8,000 — on their way to the Sand Hills Casino near Carberry.
Tazz Genik, 17, said the initial aftermath of the crash carried many uncertainties for the people of Dauphin, since some had an idea that their loved ones were on the bus, but weren't sure.
"Everyone knows someone that was in the crash. Everyone knows someone that was affected or has been affected in this, and it's tough," she told CBC News on Monday.
She said her relative's dad is in hospital and a friend's grandmother survived as well, but someone else she knows lost their grandmother last week.
"You don't know if you should reach out and kind of help people, or if you want to give them their space. You just kind of want to let them know that you're here for them."
Thursday's crash came months after another in western Manitoba that killed four teens near the western Manitoba community of Gilbert Plains, she said. All of the teens killed in the crash in late March were from the Dauphin area, according to police.
Two 17-year-old boys and the 18-year-old man driving the car were pronounced dead at the scene, and an 18-year-old woman from Carberry, Man., was pronounced dead in hospital. Genik said she knew the driver.
"It broke like all of us, like all of us were texting each other and making sure all of us were OK, and it's kind of like this situation," said Genik.
The aftermath of last week's deadly crash has been overwhelming for the small city, she said, but people are sticking together.
"As long as we have each other, which is what we have in this town, then we should be OK."
Victims yet to be publicly identified
Investigators worked through the weekend to interview survivors involved in the collision, said Supt. Rob Lasson, officer in charge of Manitoba RCMP major crime services, during a Monday news conference.
Lasson said a mechanical analysis of both the semi and the bus are ongoing. He doesn't expect to have accurate answers about exactly what happened for weeks or even months.
Another news conference focused on the families affected is expected in the coming days, he said.
Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak called it "unfortunate" that the victims have not been publicly identified yet, but he respects the RCMP's decision to withhold that information until the identities of the 15 people have been officially confirmed.
"It would be nice to know the definitive list of who was involved but … we're getting a lot of that information indirectly, so we have a pretty decent idea of who that is," he told CBC News on Monday.
'Your heart just sinks'
Bosiak says a community support centre at the city's curling rink has been closed to make way for graduating high school students. Therapy dogs have been making their way around Dauphin, and work is still being done to ensure those seeking support in relation to the crash are assisted.
"I think it's just a matter of ensuring anyone who needs help gets it."
He says all of the information involving the deadly crash will eventually become clear.
"Until then, we just continue to wait."
Tom Wenham, sales and operations manager of Webber Printing in Brandon, was on a sales call when he heard news of the crash on Thursday. He created decal stickers, which say "#dauphinstrong" to show support, and began to sell them on Friday.
"Anytime something like that happens, your heart just sinks," he told CBC News on Monday.
"By Friday afternoon, we were getting people coming in, and we had one person come in that was pretty sure that one of their friends was on the bus," said Wenham.
He made 500 decal stickers on Friday, but says he will continue to print them as needed.
"As long as there's a demand for them, we'll keep producing them."
People can go to Webber Printing to pick up the stickers or to leave donations that will go to the Dauphin Active Living Centre, where many of the victims were frequent visitors, he said.
"The money is nice, but it's also nice just to get the word out — to put a decal on the back of a window just to say: 'We're thinking about you.'"
With files from Alana Cole, Caitlyn Gowriluk and Erin Collins