A Canadian flag flies at half-mast at a truck stop in Brandon, Man., on Friday, June 16, 2023, to honour the victims of a bus crash in Carberry, on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The mood remains sombre in Dauphin, Man., as area residents learn more details of a highway crash that killed 15 people and injured 10.
Mayor David Bosiak says people are sad, and the effect on the city and surrounding area will be multi-generational.
He adds residents appreciate the support and condolences that have come in from across Canada as the mourning continues.
Those expressions come from, among others, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said Canadians stand with those affected by the crash.
A moment of silence was held ahead of the Canadian Football League game Friday night between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Bosiak says he expects a decision will be announced Monday on whether a formal vigil or other public event will be held.
Helen Kufley was among those who died on the bus, her son Garry said in a message Sunday, adding more details about her are to be released through police in the coming days. A brief online obituary says Kufley was 88.
RCMP are still investigating the fiery crash Thursday between a transport truck and a minibus that was carrying seniors from the Dauphin area to a casino near Carberry, Manitoba about two hours away.
The truck was travelling east on the Trans-Canada Highway when the southbound minibus crossed at an intersection, RCMP said Friday.
Investigators have not yet spoken with the driver of the bus, who remains in hospital along with nine other survivors.
Over the weekend, a support centre for families of those involved in the crash will continue to run at the community’s curling rink. Bosiak said the support centre has not been very busy.
There were no visible makeshift memorials in Dauphin, unlike in the aftermath of the bus crash 400 kilometres west in Humboldt, Sask., five years ago that killed 16 people, most members of the Broncos hockey team.
Cam Bennet, a Dauphin high school teacher, said that may be because in Humboldt, it was immediately clear that members of a hockey team had perished. This situation is different.
“We’re all still waiting to see who was on that bus. We all know that we’re going to know someone (who was), and it’s just a matter of waiting and finding out,” said Bennet.