St. Mary’s Road crash close to site of fatality two years ago

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This article was published 15/10/2024 (389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A serious car crash on St. Mary’s Road in St. Vital that was captured on camera occurred nearly two years to the day a similar crash killed a teen.

“I heard a massive roar of an engine,” said Don Cairns, owner of EyeSee Computers and Security Cameras at 485 St. Mary’s Rd. “Then, ‘bang.’”

Cairns said he was working late inside the store, and when he looked out the window at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, he saw a car travelling fast — he estimated about 100 km/h in the 60 km/h zone — hit a nearby building, a lamppost and a guardrail.

It is unclear if anyone was injured in the collision. Police said Tuesday afternoon the traffic division was still investigating and no additional information was available.

Cairns said he called 911 and saw bystanders attending to the scene. His power briefly went off during the collision. The road remained closed for most of Tuesday, he said, and debris was strewn across all lanes of traffic.

Video surveillance footage from EyeSee Computers and Security Cameras appears to show a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed northbound on St. Mary’s Road near Vivian Avenue at 2 a.m. It misses the turn around a curve in the road and crashes into a building, sending a plume of smoke and debris in the air.

Nearly two years ago, David Bunguke, 17, died after the car he was a passenger in crashed into a utility pole on St. Mary’s Road in the same area, near Guay Avenue on Oct. 18, 2022.

Cairns raised concerns with the Free Press at the time about speed and the notorious curve.

He said he feels for the businesses that have been affected by the crash this time.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca