Canada mourns dead in junior hockey bus crash
NIPAWIN, Saskatchewan — Canadians were moved to tears yesterday after 15 people were killed and 14 others injured when a truck collided with a bus carrying a junior hockey team to a playoff game.
The bus driving the Humboldt Broncos had 29 passengers, including the driver, when it crashed about 5 p.m. Friday on Highway 35 in Saskatchewan, Canadian police said.
Among the dead are Broncos head coach Darcy Haugan, team captain Logan Schatz and radio announcer Tyler Bieber.
Some of the injured are in critical condition.
“An entire country is in shock and mourning,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “Our national hockey family is a close one, with roots in almost every town — small and big — across Canada. Humboldt is no exception, and today the country and the entire hockey community stands with you.”
In a tweet, President Trump said he called Trudeau to offer his condolences to the families of victims.
Darren Opp, president of the Nipawin Hawks, who the Broncos were set to play against, said a semi T-boned the players’ bus — an account police confirmed.
“It’s a horrible accident, my God,” Opp said.
Michelle Straschnitzki, who lives in Airdrie, Alberta, said her 18-year-old son Ryan was transported to a hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
“We talked to him, but he said he couldn’t feel his lower extremities so I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “I am freaking out. I am so sad for all of the teammates and I am losing my mind.”
The Humboldt Broncos are a close-knit team from the small city of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, which has a population of about 6,000. Many gathered at the community center at the hockey arena there after word of the horrific crash began to circulate.
Team President Kevin Garinger said parents from across western Canada were struggling to cope with the tragedy and were rushing to the scene.
“Our whole community is in shock, we are grieving and we will continue to grieve throughout this ordeal as we try to work toward supporting each other,” he said.
Much of the hockey world issued messages of condolences, including National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman and Saskatchewan native Mike Babcock, who is the Toronto Maple Leafs coach. Babcock said that “it’s got to rip the heart out of your chest.”