4 teens dead after crash involving semi-truck near Gilbert Plains: Manitoba RCMP

Four teenagers are dead and another is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash in western Manitoba Wednesday night.

Dauphin RCMP said they received numerous calls about a crash involving a car and a semi-trailer at Highway 5 and Provincial Road 274 around 10:50 p.m. Investigators have determined that a car with the five teenagers  was travelling northbound on Provincial Road 274, heading into the town of Gilbert Plains.

Mounties say the car didn't stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 5, hitting the trailer of a semi driving eastbound.

The 18-year-old male driver and two 17-year-old males - all from Dauphin - were pronounced dead at the scene. An 18-year-old female from Carberry was rushed to hospital, where she died from her injuries. A 15-year-old female from the RM of Dauphin remains in hospital with serious injuries.

The 30-year-old man driving the semi was not hurt in the crash.

James Manchur, reeve of Gilbert Plains, said the community of about 1,400 people is in shock.

"There's going to be a period of mourning and grieving for sure," he said. "It's going to be a tough few weeks if not longer for not only the victims and the families in the community, as well as the first responders that had to come on the scene last night."

He said in his time in the municipality, he doesn't remember anything like this happening before.

"It's a small community where everybody knows most, if not everybody," he said. "Nobody is strangers here, so it's a real tough, tough thing to deal with."

The Mountain View School Division (MVSD) said three of its students are among the victims.

The division has opened up Gilbert Plains Collegiate as a place for the community to gather and access support.

“We are all saddened and shocked by the information received late last evening in which it has been confirmed that three MVSD students have lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident,” the division said in an email to the community.

“The MVSD Critical Response Team has been working to provide support for MVSD Students, Family and Staff and have opened GPCI school today and tomorrow so that tangible supports may occur.”

The RCMP forensic collision reconstructionist is investigating the incident.

-with files from CTV's Renee Rodgers