Bus involved in Canadian crash that killed 15 did not have right of way – police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Supt Rob Lasson said witness statements from passing motorists corroborated what investigators saw on the footage recorded from the semi-trailer truck during the crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Manitoba.

“This video indicates the bus entered the roadway where the semi truck had the right of way,” Supt Lasson said, adding later: “We don’t know why the bus proceeded.”

He said officers had not been able to speak to the driver of the bus, who is in hospital. The truck driver has been released from hospital.

Supt Lasson said police were not assigning blame at this time and continued to investigate. He added that officers were looking into whether the truck had mechanical problems.

The officer said investigators have not yet identified the bodies of the 15 who were killed.

He added that the ages of the deceased and injured ranged between 58 and 88. Nineteen were women and six were men.

The group of 25 seniors was on a day trip to a casino from rural Dauphin, Manitoba, when the crash happened on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Six of 10 seniors who survived were listed in critical condition, health officials said on Friday. The remaining four were also in hospital, most of whom had head injuries and broken bones.

“This is an elderly cohort of patients, so recoveries will be long and, of course, can be complicated,” Dr Shawn Young, chief operating officer of Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, said at a news conference.

Chief medical examiner John Younes said work continues on identifying those who died, using fingerprints, dental records and, if necessary, serial numbers on artificial hips and even DNA.

In Dauphin, where most of the bus riders are from, flags were flown at half-mast.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the flag in Ottawa’s Peace Tower on Parliament Hill would also be lowered.

The crash happened just before noon on Thursday. Police said road conditions were clear at the time.
Rescue crews encountered a horrific scene of bodies on the road.

The truck was still upright in a ditch, its front end crumpled, while the bus was on the grass a short distance away, engulfed in flames that eventually burned it down to a blackened chassis.

Dauphin mayor David Bosiak said everyone in the city of about 8,600 knows someone who was on the bus, and there is a collective feeling of shock.