Falcon Beach RCMP are investigating a fatal collision between a semi and a pickup truck that resulted in two deaths Sunday morning.
The crash took place around 11:15 a.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway near Barren Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park.
Police said their investigation has determined that an eastbound vehicle suddenly stopped on the highway, and the semi – also headed east – had to cross into the westbound lane in an attempt to avoid a crash. The semi then collided with a westbound pickup truck and both vehicles veered off the highway.
The driver of the pickup, a 54-year-old man, and his passenger, a 17-year-old male, were pronounced dead on scene. Both were from Dryden, Ont. and Global News has learned they are related.
The 22-year-old semi driver, from Mississauga, Ont., and a 28-year-old passenger from Brampton, Ont., each sustained minor injuries.
The investigation continues with the help of a forensic collision reconstructionist.
The company that owns the semi told Global News the driver had been with them for six months, running the same route from Toronto to Calgary and sometimes stopping in Winnipeg.
“It’s very sad what happened. We feel sorry for the loss of the other family… it’s very difficult for us when there are lives lost,” said Ron Kang of Teamex Logistics, Inc.
“Mechanical machinery can be bought with money, but lives can’t.”
According to Manitoba Public Insurance, these two deaths bring the preliminary number of road fatalities in the province up to 33 so far for 2019.
The section of the highway between Falcon Lake and the Ontario border, including where the accident occurred, isn’t twinned. MPI says since 2000, about 80 per cent of fatal crashes in Manitoba have happened on undivided highways.
“The Manitoba government continues work with Ontario to investigate the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway between Falcon Lake and the Manitoba/Ontario border,” a spokesman for Manitoba infrastructure minister Ron Schuler told Global News.
WATCH: What it’s like to deliver news of a fatal collision