Daughter of Manitoba crash victim welcomes proposed changes to site of deadly collision
The daughter of one of the 17 seniors who died in a crash in southwestern Manitoba this past summer says she hopes proposed changes to the highway intersection where it happened will ensure such a tragedy never happens again.
At a news conference Monday, the provincial government unveiled a lengthy report outlining three possible options to help improve safety at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway near the town of Carberry, Man., the site of a collision on June 15, 2023, between a semi-trailer truck and a bus full of seniors on a day trip to a casino.
The crash killed 17 people and injured eight others.
Adrienne Zurba, whose mother, Claudia, was one of the 17 people who were killed, came to Monday’s announcement in Dauphin, Man., “to put a face to what has happened here.”
“We need to make sure something gets done in that intersection,” she told reporters.
Zurba said she was pleased with the suggestions put forward in the report.
“It does give me some peace of knowing that they’re working their hardest to do this.”
The report’s three potential solutions include a roundabout, a wider median, or creating what’s known as a restricted crossing U-turn — or RCUT — at the intersection, which would eliminate left turns and through options on Highway 5 and instead force drivers to make a U-turn to get where they’re going.
Zurba said the RCUT option was one that stood out for her.
A restricted crossing U-turn, also known as an RCUT, is one of three options being explored to overhaul a highway intersection near Carberry, Man., where a crash killed 17 people and injured eight others in June.
Honouring crash victims
Claudia Zurba, who was 87 when she died, was “a very active lady” and avid gardener who loved to sing in her church choir, her daughter said.
The traumatic, sudden way in which her mother died made the loss especially hard to cope with, Zurba said, so the collision is still hard for her to talk about.
“Grief is one thing to deal with, but it’s the trauma, the severity of the accident,” she said.
The province has also been in touch with community members about a grassroots-led effort to create a memorial for those who died in the collision.
Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said now that it’s been almost seven months after the crash, the community is grappling with how to move forward from the tragedy while keeping the victims’ memories alive.
“[It’s] something we’ll never forget, but it’s also something that several people told us, ‘We don’t want that to be what identifies us, either,'” he said.
“So it’s trying to find that spot in between to be compassionate and caring, but to still be able to move on as a community.”
Following the release of the report on Monday, Bosiak said he was happy with the recommendations but also the way the province handled it by giving the families advance warning.
“I think that it just shows a level of caring from this government that I think is quite astonishing, quite frankly,” he said.
The province has earmarked $12 million to upgrade the intersection. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said she expects initial designs will be available in the next six to nine months.
Construction would begin in late 2025.
