Details are beginning to emerge around the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team bus crash in Saskatchewan that left 14 dead and 15 injured, three of those critically.
Officials and family have confirmed Broncos head coach, Darcy Haugan, was among those killed.
The team was heading from Humboldt, Sask. to Nipawin on Highway 35 for a playoff game Friday afternoon when their bus collided with a transport truck near Highway 335, just north of Tisdale.
Ten players listed on the Broncos’ playoff roster have Alberta hometowns, including:
- Greyson Cameron, Olds
- Conner Lukan, Slave Lake
- Jaxon Joseph, Edmonton
- Tyler Smith, Leduc
- Logan Hunter, St. Albert
- Derek Patter, Edmonton
- Stephen Wack, St. Albert
- Ryan Straschnitzki, Airdrie
- Logan Boulet, Lethbridge
- Parker Tobin, Stony Plain
Straschnitzki’s father, Tom, said Ryan suffered a broken back in the crash and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Saturday afternoon at a Saskatoon hospital.
“He can’t feel anything from his waist down as of today,” he said.
The father of one of the injured players posted this photo on Twitter. From the left are Derek Patter, Greyson Cameron and Nick Shumlanski. (Twitter/rjpatter)
“We’re doing the best we can, we’re really concerned about those that perished. We don’t know who has and who hasn’t yet. We’re just trying to get out there and be with the Humboldt family and lend our support as best we can.”
Straschnitzki said his son remembers little about the crash.
“He remembers he was in the middle of the bus and then he remembers waking up when the paramedics took him off the bus … and he said, ‘I thought the semi T-boned right in the middle,’ but he said, ‘no, it was in the front of the bus.'”
Straschnitzki added he had spoken to Greyson Cameron’s father, who said his son was also in hospital.
I’ve heard my brother is doing ok. I’m absolutely devastated for him. His teammates. Staff. Organization. Family members and community. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/prayforhumboldt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#prayforhumboldt</a>
—@Bcamo
No information on the condition of other players, coaches and staff is available.
“We’re gonna fly out and we’re gonna go see Ryan and I’m sure there will be strong hugs for about an hour then we’ll go from there,” Straschnitzki said.
“Hockey is a small community, we’ve had so many calls. We’re getting texts and phone calls from people down east and some from the States. Everyone wants to help.”
Receiving support from across the country has made things “way easier,” he added.
Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, who survived the 1986 bus crash involving the Swift Current Broncos, says support will be key in the coming days. (CBC)
The crash is reminiscent of a December 1986 bus crash involving the Swift Current Broncos junior hockey team, which left four dead.
Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy survived that crash and said yesterday’s incident brought back a flood of memories.
“When I first heard this, I just remember the day, and the first two or three days from this event happening and it was just about piecing it together,” he said.
“If you look at the surviving players on this bus, they’re in hospitals in different cities… they’re wondering who is alive, who isn’t alive, what happened to this person and they’re trying to piece that together, so I think it’s critical for us to put one foot in front of another and take this one day at a time.”
Anyone looking for information about family members who may have been involved in the collision are asked to call the Government of Saskatchewan at 306-752-8700.