Manitoba road fatalities near double 2022 rate

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This article was published 30/06/2023 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The June 27 deaths of two men in a fiery Highway 10 crash brings the total number of road fatalities in Manitoba RCMP jurisdiction to 64 for the year — a massive rise over the same period in 2022.

The men, ages 38 and 62, respectively, seemingly died instantly when their pickup truck collided head-on with a semi-truck on Highway 10, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Friday.

Souris RCMP officers were called to the scene about five kilometres north of Hwy. 1 in the Rural Municipality of Elton at about 5:30 p.m., Mounties said.

The men were travelling south when their truck veered into the north lane and hit the semi, being driven by a 39-year-old man from Rivers.

The pickup truck was quickly consumed by flames, said Manaigre, destroying the vehicle and delaying RCMP’s ability to identify the dead.

The semi’s cab also burned, Manaigre added.

The semi driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, most of which were sustained in the collision, though he had some minor burns, according to Manaigre.

Local Mounties and a forensic collision reconstruction specialist are investigating.

Of the year’s 64 road victims, 16 died June 15, as a result of a collision between a mini-bus carrying Dauphin-area seniors and a semi on Hwy. 1 near Carberry.

However, Manaigre said, even without that large-scale tragedy, the year-to-date fatality numbers still show a big increase over last year, when there had been 33 by the end of June.

“The drinking and driving, the texting and driving, some of the contributing high-risk behaviours that we see out there, a lot of times, contribute to the numbers,” said Manaigre.

“Some people just aren’t taking the message. It’s upsetting, but that’s where we have to continue on the education aspect and the enforcement side of things.”

Manaigre said some drivers only get the message — drive sober, cautiously and to road conditions, with a seatbelt on — when it hits them in the wallet or once charges are laid. “It would appear to take something substantial for that message to hit home for some people.”

RCMP plan to increase highway patrols and sobriety checkpoints across the province during the Canada Day weekend.

In 2022, Manitoba RCMP investigated a total of 74 fatal collisions, which resulted in 85 deaths. In 2021, there were 79 collisions, with 84 deaths.

On Friday, Mounties also warned people heading to beaches and lakes to swim or boat to be cautious on the water. RCMP have already investigated eight drownings in the province this year.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca