Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk, the 17-year-old who was fatally struck by a train near Weyburn on Aug. 16, died as a result of distracted driving, according to a social media post from her mother.
The post claims that Bursic-Panchuk was following Google Maps and that she “looked down and did not even see the train.”
Click here to view
The emotional post begs other drivers to stay off their phones so that they will not have to feel the “heartache, pain, anger, helplessness and emptiness that I feel every second of every day.”
RCMP and CP Rail have yet to release official findings from their investigation into the collision, which happened around 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 16.
Bursic-Panchuk was taken to hospital in Regina for surgery before being transferred to the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon for monitoring and testing.
She died Aug. 22, just one day after her 17th birthday.
A celebration of her life is being held on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, Cugnet Centre. A scholarship fund in her memory has been created.