The Wrap: Bear attack, impaired driving sentence, downtown uptick, Manitoba triathlete

Startled awake in the dead of night, Waylon Thomas watched in horror as a bear clambered through the window of a home on Shamattawa First Nation, pausing for a moment before pouncing on him with its teeth bared.

Thomas, who attempted to flee before being chased down and mauled, is now recovering from the attack last week that left him with bite marks and slashes across his back.

He is believed to be the second person to be attacked by a bear in the community within the last week; on Monday the remains of Thomas’ uncle were found in a wooded area, and Manitoba RCMP said evidence at the scene suggests a bear was involved.

Tyler Searle talks to Thomas about his harrowing ordeal, and to community members about bear populations in the area.

A veteran police officer struggled to hold back tears Wednesday as he told a Winnipeg court of everything he has lost since suffering catastrophic injuries in a collision with a drunk driver.

“Because of the offender’s choice, for which he is solely responsible, I was sentenced to spend 207 days in hospital, 207 days away from my home, away from my duties to this city and its people,” said 51-year-old Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dan Léveillé, who arrived at court in a motorized wheelchair.

Léveillé was behind the wheel of his motorcycle, on his way to work around 6 a.m. on June 14, 2023, when a minivan turned into his path at Talbot Avenue and Levis Street and struck him head-on.

Braedon Lee Gordon, 23, the driver of the minivan, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 causing bodily harm. He was sentenced to 35 months in prison.

Six businesses opened in the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ’s parameters between April and June — marking a second consecutive quarterly net gain in businesses for the area.

It’s a change from the pandemic and post-pandemic trend of net business losses and stagnancy. Early 2024 — January through March — brought the first time more companies opened than closed in downtown Winnipeg since March of 2020.

Roughly three-quarters of Winnipeg residents have spent money at downtown restaurants and entertainment over the past year, the BIZ found via a Probe Research poll.

Gabrielle Piché looks at the encouraging numbers.

After pushing through a string of bad breaks over the past three years — from racing with a torn achilles tendon at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to suffering a concussion in a bike crash this May — Tyler Mislawchuk said he stood on the start line of today’s triathlon healthy and didn’t hold back in his medal chase.

“I’m proud of the effort. You want more, but that’s all I had today.”

It was a grueling battle through the heart of the city and one that nearly failed to reach the start line after bacteria levels in the iconic Seine River postponed the race by a day.

Danielle Da Silva reports from Paris.