Family mourns loss of mother and daughter killed in Manitoba highway crash

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Peggy

A family in southern Manitoba is mourning the death of a mother and her eight-year-old daughter, who were both killed in a highway crash west of Altona last week.

“It’s a very tragic thing that happened here,” said Peter Unger, the father-in-law and grandfather to the woman and girl who died.

“Nobody wants to lose their children like this ever. This is like a big shock to everybody, to the whole family, it’s been very hard,” added Susan Unger, Peter’s wife.

Sara Unger, 35, and daughter Alexa Unger were heading home from the grocery store Friday evening when the driver of a semi-trailer crashed into their SUV at the intersection of highways 201 and 306.

RCMP say the driver of the semi, a 25-year-old man from Brampton, Ont., was eastbound on Highway 201 and had a stop sign but went through it, hitting the southbound SUV on Highway 306.

Sara, who is from the rural municipality of Rhineland, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her daughter was airlifted to Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre, where she later died from her injuries.

A woman and a man stand right by each other. — Susan Unger, left, and Peter Unger, drove from their home in Ontario to southern Manitoba to be their son, who lost his wife and daughter in Friday’s crash. (Ron Dhaliwal/CBC)

Peter and Susan Unger drove from their home in Ontario after learning of the crash, to be with the family and comfort their son.

“He just totally collapsed yesterday because of this … it’s very, very hard for him,” Peter said.

On Sunday, the couple went to the site of the crash, where they combed through pieces of debris left from the vehicles.

“I wanted to see the spot where my daughter [in-law] had to give her life so instantly, so suddenly. It’s just too much,” Susan said.

Pieces of a car lay on the grass at a highway intersection. — Debris left from the vehicles is seen in the grass at the intersection of highways 201 and 306. (Ron Dhaliwal/CBC)

Peter Susan said Sara was a mother of two, leaving behind a 10-year-old son. They described her as a devoted Christian who home-schooled the children and worked as a teacher at a church.

“She was very close to them … she was very special to us, we love her just like our own daughters,” Susan said.

The couple said they will remember Alexa as a “hyper little girl” full of energy, who would constantly hug them and look to spend time with them.

“I had a lot of fun with her, and she was a very lovable person,” Peter said. “It’s not easy to come to see something like this.”

The RCMP continue to investigate the crash and have spoken with several witnesses, including a woman who was driving behind Sara’s SUV.

The woman said the semi appeared to have approached the intersection at a high speed, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Manaigre said.

No charges have been laid yet, but RCMP said on Saturday they are expected.

Don Wiebe, reeve of the rural municipality of Rhineland, extended condolences to the family and said the crash will be discussed at a council meeting on Monday.

A stop sign in a road intersection. — RCMP say the driver of the semi, a 25-year-old man from Brampton, Ont., failed to stop at the intersection. (Ron Dhaliwal/CBC )

Peter Unger, who used to be a truck driver, said the family is still looking for answers as to why the driver failed to stop.

“It shouldn’t have happened, I don’t know what he was thinking, you can hear the rumble [strips leading to] the stop sign. Why didn’t he respond to that?” he said.

The family said funeral arrangements are on hold, pending autopsy results.

“We can’t do anything to bring her back but hopefully they will look into it … taking care of whatever needs to be done,” Susan Unger said.

Meanwhile, a fundraising campaign has been set up for Sara’s husband and son.