A major collision involving a semi-trailer truck and a busload of seniors en route to Sand Hill Casino in Carberry, Manitoba has tragically left 15 dead and ten injured. Speaking after the Thursday accident, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Rob Lasson said the deceased were mostly seniors.
RCMP Manitoba had earlier taken to Twitter to share news of the “very serious collision” and to warn drivers to avoid the area:
The crash scene was on the Trans-Canada Highway near the city of Carberry. With poignant media images of the accident showing dead bodies scattered along the blacktop, it’s no surprise Lasson said: “….the public is reeling and asking a lot of questions.”
“Death on this scale is never normalized for us,” he added.
Canadians are here for you.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter to send his condolences to the victims’ families, saying he could not imagine their pain, but that: “Canadians are here for you.”
According to Kim Armstrong, administrator of the senior center in Dauphin, the group of seniors departed the center Thursday morning on a bus bound for Sand Hill Casino and was due to arrive at the casino later in the day.
“It’s huge to lose so many individuals of our community and of course it is shocking. We just pray for those that are surviving,” Armstrong said.