Two days after a tragic crash killed a young girl and seriously injured two others, the small town of St. Paul is trying to come to grips with what happened.
“It’s very traumatic. At first there was anger and then there’s frustration. You’re getting to it now where they’re all banding together and trying to make some sense of a situation that probably, nobody will make any sense of,” said St. Paul’s Mayor Glenn Andersen.
With a population of less than 6,000 people, community members say everyone in St. Paul knows someone who knows the family of Megan Wolitski, the 11-year-old girl who died following the crash. Andersen says the entire town in shaken up, knowing something so tragic could happen while the kids were in school.
“I myself have children and I’ve also thought when you’re in school it’s a safe haven. If they’re on a bus or something, then you worry. If they’re walking home from school, you worry. But, never do you worry (when they’re at school),” he said adding, “That safety net was shattered and now parents will be on the alert all the time.”
46-year-old Richard Edward Benson is facing charges in relation to the crash. Now, his brother is speaking out. He says his Richard has been through a lot of hardship over the past 10 years and believes he is being treated unfairly.
“We’re sticking up for him because he’s our family, we care for him and we know that he had medical issues,” said Ralph Benson.
Ralph says his brother suffered a traumatic brain injury 10 years ago, which causes him to have frequent seizures.
“I think he had another seizure, I really believe (that),” he said adding, “If he has a seizure while he’s driving, what’s going to happen? He’s going to step on his vehicle to the full, and he’s got no control. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
He believes his brother should be getting medical attention rather than sitting in jail. While Ralph says he is worried about his brother, he says his condolences go out to Wolitski’s family.
“My heart goes out to the family. I can’t imagine how they feel.”
Students who attended Racette school will be moved to Regional High School, where they will attend class until Racette is deemed safe to enter again. Students will head back to class on Tuesday morning, and counsellors will be on hand to help students through the grieving process.
“It’s just a matter of time. It’s going to take time to heal and to get through the grieving process of this, nothing but time can help heal these wounds,” said Andersen.
With files from Jenna Bridges.
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