The Wrap: No charges in Carberry bus crash, Transcona house explodes and Ray St. Germain dead at 83

Criminal charges will not be laid against the bus driver involved in a highway crash that killed 17 seniors near Carberry last year, Crown prosecutors and RCMP announced Wednesday.

Crown Attorney Chris Vanderhooft said it is believed a blind spot on the vehicle prevented the driver, who was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury and is unlikely to improve, from seeing the tractor-trailer that collided with the bus.

RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson said the collision happened because of a choice by the bus driver — who investigators have been unable to interview — but investigators cannot prove the crash was a result of anything criminal.

A “catastrophic” explosion rocked a quiet suburban Winnipeg neighbourhood Wednesday morning, levelling one home, damaging others and forcing nearby residents to flee.

The explosion happened on Camrose Bay in Transcona at 11:19 a.m., deputy Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service chief Scott Wilkinson told journalists at the scene.

Only the foundation of the house that exploded remained standing after the blast.

The music and Métis communities alike are grieving the death of Manitoba musician Ray St. Germain, who died Tuesday at age 83 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Earlier this month, St. Michael Road in St. Vital was given the honorary name ‘Big Sky Country Way’ in honour of St. Germain, who hosted the Big Sky Country TV show for many years.