Crash victim died during daily commute after moving to Interlake

Family and friends are mourning a young woman who died in a head-on collision on Highway 8 last week, just months after she moved to the Interlake.

Mounties from Selkirk responded to a two-vehicle crash near Whytewold Road, in the RM of St Andrews just after noon on Jan. 27.

An investigation determined a car driving south on Highway 8 collided head-on with a northbound vehicle. The driver of the northbound vehicle, 26-year-old Samantha Zimmerman, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other driver, a 20-year-old woman from Winnipeg Beach, was rushed to hospital and later died.

Zimmerman had moved to the Gimli area in the fall so she and her boyfriend would have a bigger property for their pets, her family said.

“It was a really, really special place for her and her partner,” said Brooke Seneshen, Zimmerman’s cousin. “They spent so much time on the beach and they just absolutely loved it. Even though it was far away from the city where they both work, the drive was just something they had to do because they wanted the space.”

Zimmerman worked for Marymound youth social services on Scotia Street. She drove the stretch of highway daily and sometimes complained about the conditions, Seneshen said.

RCMP figures shows six people have died in collisions within RCMP jurisdiction since Jan. 1. Last year, 63 collisions resulted in 69 deaths and in 2024, 65 collisions resulted in 75 fatalities.

Two weeks before the crash that claimed two lives, on Jan. 12, a 78-year-old woman died near Lac du Bonnet after her vehicle crossed into an intersection on Highway 11 and was hit by a semi-trailer truck.

Zimmerman, who was the eldest of two children, loved the outdoors and thrived during the summertime, her cousin said. She loved animals, which was evidenced by her decision to move to the Interlake to have more room for her dog to roam.

A longtime friend of Zimmerman, Haley Sheptycki, remembered her as someone who always made her laugh.

“She was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” she said.

A Gofundme to support Zimmerman’s family raised $17,535, more than double its initial goal of $8,000. Seneshen says the generosity is indicative of Zimmerman’s kind spirit.

“We were so shocked and felt so loved, and we’re so happy that her mom and the family and her boyfriend will be supported during this time of grief,” she said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca