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2 teens dead after crash with semi on Manitoba highway west of Portage la Prairie

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2 teens dead after crash with semi on Manitoba highway west of Portage la Prairie
WATCH: Two teens died after a crash with a semi west of Portage la Prairie. Global's Zahra Premji reports. – Aug 28, 2017

Two Manitoba teens have died in a crash at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 16 on Sunday.

RCMP have confirmed a 19-year-old woman from the RM of Alonsa and a 17-year-old man from Portage were pronounced dead at the scene.

“RCMP officers had to go tell two families that their children were never coming home,” Tara Seel, with the Manitoba RCMP, said in a release. “Now those families are reeling, and the bottom line is they should not have to be. The tragedies we are seeing on the roadways are preventable. Drivers need to slow down and pay attention.”

The car the pair were in was heading south on Highway 16 when it was struck by a semi-truck carrying a load of heavy pipes heading west on Highway 1.

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Investigators suspect the semi-truck driver ran the red light at the intersection and collided with the car.

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Police have arrested Gurjant Singh, 23, from British Columbia. He has been charged with two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and two counts of criminal negligence causing death.

Susie is a driver in the area who has been driving that stretch back and forth for years and she said she’s not surprised that people have been dying there.

“I’m not surprised because growing up there’s been so many deaths on that corner. It’s unreal,” Susie said.

Westbound lanes of Highway 1 at the Yellowhead Highway were closed for more than 5 hours due to the collision.

This is the same intersection where a pedestrian was struck and killed on Saturday.

RCMP said an eastbound semi hit the 39-year-old man from Portage la Prairie after he walked out onto the highway.

On Aug. 19 three others were also killed at the same intersection when a semi collided into the van they were in.

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A 35-year-old father and his sons ages 10 and 13 from Carberry, Man. were killed in the crash.

The mother and the youngest son survived the collision.

Before those incidents, the last time a fatal collision happened at the intersection was in May 2013.

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