Late last week, a small town in Saskatchewan was rocked by tragedy.
In a saddening accident, 15 lives were taken, when a semi truck collided with a junior hockey team bus at the intersection of two highway roads. Among the young boys killed was their driver, and in those injured, their female trainer.
The news of this accident is devastating, and didn’t take long to make its way across Canada. We lost a piece of ourselves on Friday, and I’m sure everyone who has read about the news has been affected.
Our compassion and empathy is what makes us truly Canadian. It’s in our blood to care, and we need to hold each other tight in this time of grief.
An accident of this magnitude shakes a town, and sends waves across the country. There are survivors in critical condition that we can hold in our hopes that they will recover. One male who was on the bus is paralyzed from the waist down, but is already talking about joining the Olympic sledge hockey team. He is our true spirit. Strong, passionate, and never giving up.
Our hearts go out to all of those who are suffering the loss and the injuries in this collision.
It is always extremely difficult when these types of accidents happen. In my lifetime, there have been a number of disastrous accidents involving buses. Another memorable one that shook our country was the bus carrying high school basketball students in New Brunswick, where eight people were killed.
No matter where we are in this vast country, stories like these shake our communities. From coast to coast, we stand together when tragedy strikes.
There are probably people out there who will advocate for more safety measures to be taken to ensure these types of things don’t happen, but accidents will always happen. It is heartbreaking when one as terrible as this happens, and all we can do is work together to ensure we are being the safest we can be while driving on the road. This means putting the cell phone away, not driving when you’re tired, and taking extra precaution to ensure we’re doing all we can to protect our lives and the lives of others.
So, hug your loved ones, and lets hope we never have to face a tragedy like this first hand.
Humboldt, Saskatchewan, you are in the hearts of all Canadians during this difficult time. Let us hope for a swift recovery for all of those who survived, and may the families of those who lost their loved ones find peace.
