Nation reels as 15 die when hockey bus, truck collide

NIPAWIN, Saskatchewan — A tractor trailer struck a bus carrying a youth hockey team in western Canada, killing 15 people and injuring 14 others in a collision that left the vehicles destroyed and unleashed a national outpouring of grief.

As more details of Friday’s accident on a highway in Saskatchewan emerged, Canadians were moved to tears over the loss of the deceased on a bus taking the Humboldt Broncos hockey team to a playoff game.

“An entire country is in shock and mourning,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare. No one should ever have to see their child leave to play the sport they love and never come back.”

The bus had 29 people aboard, including the driver, when it crashed around 5 p.m. on Highway 35, police said. Among the dead are Broncos head coach Darcy Haugan, team captain Logan Schatz and radio announcer Tyler Bieber. Three people were in critical condition.

Police said the truck driver was initially detained but has since been released and provided with mental health assistance. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said it’s too early to state a cause for the crash.

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, said the semi T-boned the players’ bus — an account police confirmed. “It’s a horrible accident, my God,” Opp said.

Photographs of the wreckage showed the twisted trailer with most of its wheels in the air and the bus on its side and its back portion destroyed.

Kelly Schatz, Logan’s father, said his 20-year-old son played for the Broncos for just over four years and had served as team captain for the past 2½ years. Meanwhile, tributes poured in online for coach Haugan, a father of two who was described as an amazing mentor to young players.

The names of others killed have not been confirmed.

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.

Much of the hockey world issued messages of condolences, including National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman.