'Something needs to be done': calls for safety improvements after another crash at Manitoba intersection

The Manitoba government says it will be making interim safety upgrades in the coming weeks at an intersection where a deadly crash more than a month ago has 17 people dead – and now another crash is being investigated at the same intersection.

Three people are in hospital after with serious injuries after a crash at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man.

RCMP says around 4:45 p.m. on Monday, a pick-up truck heading south on Highway 5 entered the intersection and was turning east when it collided with another vehicle, which then collided with a third vehicle.

The crash left debris spread across the intersection and the vehicles involved crumpled.

STARS Air Ambulance had to take one woman to hospital in Winnipeg. The remaining two people were taken to a local hospital. While their injuries are serious, RCMP said no deaths have been reported.

Sgt. Paul Manaigre, a media relations officer with the RCMP, said some of the officers who responded had also been at the same intersection more than a month ago – what they saw is still fresh on their minds.

"What they observed visually at that first collision is going to stick with them for the rest of their lives," Manaigre said. "For them, it could be triggering, but at the same time you have a job to do."

'SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE': CARBERRY MAYOR SAYS INTERSECTION CONCERNS ARE NOT NEW

This is the same intersection where, on June 15, a passenger bus carrying 25 people from the Dauphin-area collided with a semi-truck. Seventeen people on board the bus have since died of their injuries.

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said his community is still reeling from the deadly crash in June

"Something needs to be done. The situation is not fresh, like this is a decades-old situation," he said. "It's kind of an ongoing thing. Every time the sirens go off in the Town of Carberry and emergency vehicles head north, probably six or eight out of 10 times, it's at that junction."

He said Carberry council met with several officials from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure last week, calling for immediate safety improvements at the intersection.

During an announcement Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said changes are coming.

INTERIM SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS HAPPENING WITHIN TWO WEEKS: PROVINCE

"We want to make sure that safety is paramount, and making sure that all the people driving through that intersection are safe," Stefanson said.

A statement from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure said a safety review of the intersection is ongoing, and expected to be completed by late fall.

In the interim, the province said it will be refreshing and enhancing pavement markings and rumble strips approaching the intersection within the next two weeks. It will also be installing advanced warning signs replacing signage as required in the weeks to follow.

When asked why these interim measures haven't been done sooner, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk said it comes at a busy time.

"There is a lot of construction going on throughout the whole province," he said. "This is one of our busiest seasons for the year, so this is why, we're going to get through this as quick as possible."

Piwniuk said these interim safety improvements were already scheduled to be completed before the province heard of this second crash.

He said further safety improvements at the intersection will be determined by the safety review.

"Reduce the speed limit or speed, or do we put in a traffic light? That is something that will be determined when the study gets completed."

The province said Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is waiting for the RCMP to complete its investigation into the deadly crash at the intersection in June, saying it may provide more information for further consideration.

While the RCMP's investigation is ongoing, Manaigre said investigations into serious crashes that involve fatalities can take more than a year to complete.