Manitoba crash investigators reach out to Mounties who worked Broncos crash

The deadly highway crash in Manitoba on Thursday evoked memories of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy for many — including the RCMP.

“This incident does have echoes of the tragic collision that happened in … Saskatchewan and we are very much aware of that,” Supt. Rob Lasson, the officer in charge of Major Crime Services for the Manitoba RCMP, told a media conference in Winnipeg.

“We have already linked into the investigators in Saskatchewan who have firsthand experience and were some of the primary investigators in the investigation into the Humboldt crash who are assisting us right now in any way (they) can.”

On Thursday, a semi and a passenger bus carrying 25 people — mostly seniors — collided at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 near Carberry, Man.

According to the RCMP, 15 people who were on the bus died and 10 others were injured.

On April 6, 2018, the Broncos were on their way to an SJHL playoff game in Nipawin when their bus collided with a semi at the intersection of two highways near Tisdale.

Sixteen people on the bus died as a result of the crash and 13 others were injured. The semi driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, eventually pleaded guilty to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

During the media conference Thursday, Lasson said it was too early to determine if charges would be filed as a result of the crash near Carberry, but he noted the Mounties are putting all of their resources into the investigation.

That includes RCMP officers from the neighbouring province.

“We have numerous investigators out there (at Carberry) and some of the best people in this province,” Lasson said, “and we’re leaning on RCMP in Saskatchewan who have unfortunately been through this before, so they’re helping us with that.”

The RCMP said the semi was travelling east on the Trans-Canada and the bus was going south on Highway 5. The Mounties said the bus had crossed the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada and was going across the eastbound lanes when the collision occurred.

Lasson said the incident was the first mass casualty event on Manitoba roads in his memory.

“This is new for us and our investigators, and it’s very emotionally draining for them as well,” he said.

That was evident during the media conference, with Lasson pausing at one point to collect his thoughts.

“We deal with very tough cases as police officers a lot; however, death on this scale is never, never normalized for us,” he said.

“However, we have to kick into operational gear right away thinking about, ‘What do the families need? What do the investigators need? And what needs to be done here and what needs to be a priority?’ But that doesn’t mean we’re not feeling the pain with you.

“This is a very sad day for Manitobans.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an amended version of this story, correcting the spelling of the name of the RCMP officer. As well, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was driving the semi in the Humboldt Broncos crash.