'My heart aches for them': co-owner of bus company involved in Carberry crash extends sympathy
Ashlee Harvey says the passengers were well known to Quality Care Transit
The co-owner of the bus company involved in the crash that killed 15 people near Carberry, Man., says there are no words to describe what happened.
"I just want to let everybody know that my heart aches for them. It really does," Ashlee Harvey, co-owner of Quality Care Transit in Dauphin, told CBC in an interview Saturday.
Fifteen of the 25 people onboard one of the company's buses were killed Thursday morning, after it was hit by a semi-trailer truck on the Trans-Canada Highway. The busload of people — mostly seniors — had been en route from the Dauphin Active Living Centre to the Sand Hills Casino, located near Carberry.
Dauphin, a city of 8,000 people, is about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. The casino is about 150 kilometres south of the Dauphin.
Kim Armstrong, administrator for Dauphin Active Living Centre, said about 500 people use the centre throughout the year.
Its programs mostly cater to seniors and many of them love to visit the casino, she said, noting she spoke with some of them before they left on Thursday.
"They were excited to have a nice day away and then tragedy" hit, Armstrong said.
The RCMP confirmed the semi had the right of way after reviewing dashcam footage from the larger vehicle.
A spokesperson for Shared Health, Manitoba's provincial health agency, confirmed Saturday morning that the 10 patients who were transported to hospitals in Brandon and Winnipeg remain there. Six are in critical care.
The co-owner of Quality Care Transit and the driver of the 24-seat bus is one of them, Harvey confirmed.
She said they started the company in 2022.
Manitoba Public Insurance told CBC in a statement that in order to drive a bus with a seating capacity over 24 passengers in the province a driver is required to hold a Class 2 licence.
That is considered a professional driver's licence in the province.
Shared Health is encouraging anyone impacted or affected by the crash to contact its general mental health crisis support line at 1-888-379-7699.
Support for the Dauphin community is available at Credit Union Place on Saturday until 5 p.m. CDT. The support centre's hours in the days ahead will be made public when it's available.
Harvey said she knows those who had family onboard the bus are going through a lot right now.
"But I still feel guilty because it's my company," she said. "All our clients were like family."
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With files from Erin Brohman