'It seemed like a nightmare': Survivor of crash that killed 4 teens recovering in Winnipeg hospital
'It seemed like a nightmare': Survivor of crash that killed 4 teens recovering in Winnipeg hospital
The mother of a 15-year-old girl recovering in hospital after a major car crash is thanking the first responders who pulled her from the wreckage.
Tanya Yurkiw says her 15-year-old daughter Hanna is a social butterfly with a smile that lights up the room.
Sitting at Health Sciences Centre Children's Hospital, Yurkiw explained while Hanna is in stable condition right now, she's only able to say a few words intermittently.
Yurkiw said she went to bed at her home in Dauphin Wednesday night after Hanna went out for a drive with friends.
She said she was woken by a friend knocking at her door around 11:00 p.m.
"I opened the door and he basically just swung the door open and yelled for my husband and said,' Hanna is trapped under a semi,'" recalled Yurkiw.
Yurkiw immediately left to go to the collision on Provincial Road 274 near Gilbert Plains, where RCMP say the car Hanna was a passenger in hit the trailer of a semi heading east on Highway 5.
While on the way to the crash, Yurkiw said she was able to reach Hanna on her phone.
"And she answered the phone, and all she said was, 'mommy, I need you, please come and get me.'"
Once at the scene, Yurkiw was stuck watching first responders try to pull her daughter out from under the semi-truck for an hour and a half.
"It seemed like a nightmare. Like a scene from a movie," said Yurkiw. "It's everything possible that you can never imagine and think you'd come across."
Yurkiw said Hanna is on heavy pain medication and is mostly sleeping, only waking up to say a few words or to grab a quick drink.
The other four people in the car, 17-year-old Riley Robak, 17-year-old Le Rouxan Niemann, 18-year-old Alexandra Watt and 18-year-old driver Christopher Swintak, are all dead.
"I grew up in Gilbert. My husband grew up in Gilbert. We both went to school in Gilbert. We know what it's like to come from a small town. My heart is going out back home," said Yurkiw.
Yurkiw said her thoughts are with the other families and is thankful for the first responders who helped her daughter.
"I think it's important to mention the firefighters, the paramedics, everybody there that night was truly amazing. My heart goes out to them as well. It wouldn't have been easy," she said.
Yurkiw said she's also thankful for all of the support the family is receiving.
She added she hasn't had a chance to tell Hanna what happened or about the other people in the car.
RCMP say it is continuing to investigate the crash. It said the driver of the semi-truck was not injured, and Mounties are not contemplating charges against him.
An attorney for an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help said Thursday there was 'no way' the boy could have been mistaken for an adult.
Texas' Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said on Thursday, adding to dozens of orca attacks on vessels recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Mexican authorities say they've made an arrest in the killing of a Quebec man earlier this month in the Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido. The Oaxaca state attorney general says in a statement issued Friday that an arrest warrant was executed for a man in Puerto Escondido identified only by his initials in connection with the homicide of Victor Masson.
A Prince Albert man said he can start moving on, now that the woman who attacked his 89-year-old father has been sentenced. He said because of the assault, he lost both his mother and father.
The Catholic school system in Saskatchewan has a long history and is ultimately protected by the province’s constitution. Something the courts have backed up.
Ontario Provincial Police have charged two people following reports of hitchhikers displaying aggressive behaviour along the Highway 17 East corridor in Kenora.
The rookie quarterback recorded a pair of touchdown runs, including a late game-winning 46-yard sprint into the end zone, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers survived a comeback bid to open up CFL pre-season play with a 25-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday afternoon.
Advocates are hoping the Ontario government will consider alternatives to the use of wild animals in off-leash dog areas for the purpose of tracking as officials push forward with a proposal to expand training areas in the province.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Quebecers are used to congestion headaches on Highway 40, but Saturday’s hold-up was nothing if not out of the ordinary: a horse broke free from its transport container and ran free in the fast lane. Marco Lelievre, a trucker, stopped his vehicle while driving through Repentigny, Que. after he saw the runaway horse.
Those planning on travelling in and around Montreal on the weekend may want to consider public transit or a bicycle to get around as there are a more than a few construction projects that will cause major road closures.
Who is Diandra D'Alessio? She's a Montrealer, a technical writer, a history lover -- and she's last night's Jeopardy winner. The self-proclaimed trivia buff made it out on top with $3,299 under her belt.
The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association says hotels in the area are near capacity this weekend, as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, the Ottawa Redblacks exhibition game, the Great Glebe Garage Sale and other events attract people to Ottawa.
Health Canada has issued a warning about unauthorized amoxicillin capsules seized from a Vanier grocery store, saying the product may pose serious health risks to users.
Deborah Stefanek's doctor recommended she take a new medication called Kisempta to treat her relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. She was shocked to learn every province in Canada covers Kisempta under their Pharmacare plans except B.C.
As more people are heading out to enjoy the city’s wilderness areas, North Vancouver RCMP issued water safety tips for those spending time at the North Shore’s rivers and lakes.
A man and a woman have been arrested and charged for last March’s murder of 41-year-old Chad Colivas of Abbotsford, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said Saturday.
Everyone is experiencing sticker shock at the grocery store these days, and a new report is putting a dollar figure on how much it’s costing families, per month, to eat healthy.
British Columbia Premier David Eby has called byelections for two ridings left vacant after the resignations of the previous New Democrat premier and a former cabinet minister.
