The University of Victoria has launched a review around the circumstances surrounding a bus crash that happened on a field trip and left an 18-year-old Winnipeg woman dead.
First-year student Emma Machado and another student from the United States were killed when the bus headed to a marine sciences centre went down an embankment.
It happened on a remote logging road on Vancouver Island Friday night.
Machado’s family is struggling with Emma’s death and have question about why she died. The family said in an interview with CTV Winnipeg Monday night, it was raining and wondered why the bus was travelling on a road with potholes in the dark.
“As soon as we heard about the accident we knew that we wanted to fully understand what happened. While our priority in the first few days was to respond to the complex and urgent needs of the students and their families, as well as to anticipate and plan for their ongoing needs, we did begin a review earlier this week of the circumstances around the bus accident,” said Gayle Gorrill, vice-president of finance and operations, in an email statement.
Gorrill said the outcomes of the review will inform decisions around transportation for that field trip as well as other future trips.
The RCMP are investigating the crash. The bus was carrying 48 people, 45 of them students.
“The safety of our students is extremely important to us at UVic. Whenever there are situations such as this tragedy, we need to learn from them,” said Gorrill.
“The Bamfield Sciences Marine Centre is a world-class teaching and research facility that provides our students with incredible opportunities to learn and study on the west coast.
“The only other UVic trip this term is in late October and there are no plans to cancel it,” said Gorrill.
On Tuesday, a university spokesperson said the field trip during which the crash occurred has been offered for at least 18 years and is optional. The bus leaves the university after other classes and labs.
