No charges to be laid in bus crash that left 17 dead near Carberry, Man.

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Peggy

No charges will be laid in the bus crash last year near Carberry, the deadliest in Manitoba history.

RCMP Supt. Rob Lawson said following a complex investigation that was very difficult for loved ones of the 17 people who died, Crown prosecutors reviewed the evidence and recommended against pursuing charges.

RCMP and Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft visited family members in Dauphin Tuesday to notify them of the news before the public announcement, Lawson said.

“Like the families, today will bring upon varied emotions,” Lawson said.

“We hope to provide the ‘why’ of what happened … but in this case, we cannot say why the bus proceeded into the intersection that day when it was unsafe to do so.”

More to come.

Read a previous version of this story below:

Officials will give an update Wednesday morning on a decision regarding laying charges in a 2023 crash in southwestern Manitoba that left 17 people dead.

The update on the results of the investigation into the June 2023 crash near Carberry will be provided at a news conference with Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft and representatives from the RCMP, Mounties said in a news release on Tuesday.

CBC News will livestream the update here at 10 a.m. CT.

RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson, the officer in charge of major crime services, will be among those at the news conference, along with team commander Staff Sgt. Sean Grunewald and primary investigator Sgt. Janna Amirault, both of Manitoba RCMP major crime services.

Police will provide further investigational details that were not able to be shared before, while the prosecutor will speak to the decision about laying charges in the crash, the RCMP’s news release said.

The update comes just over a week after the one-year anniversary of the deadly collision.

On June 15, 2023, a bus carrying 25 people — most of them seniors from Dauphin, Man., and the surrounding area — headed to a casino near Carberry for a day trip was hit by a semi at a Trans-Canada Highway intersection. Police have said the semi had the right of way.

It was the deadliest bus crash in Manitoba history, killing 17 people and leaving eight others seriously injured.

Mounties said earlier this month they have been unable to speak with the driver of the bus due to a medical condition caused by the accident, and that investigators may never hear his perspective on what happened.

Despite that, Supt. Lasson said at a June 13 news conference that the police force was confident enough information had been gathered to provide Crown prosecutors with the evidence they needed in the case.

The complex investigation included talking to survivors, analyzing vehicles and securing forensic reports, he said.