Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of the bus collision of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team that resulted in the death of 16 young hockey players and injured 13.
A bus carrying the team was struck by a semi-truck that went through a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 35 and 335 in April of 2018.
“We can never, ever, forget what happened and get past that,” said city Mayor Michael Behiel. “But it is how you move forward, and we have tried to shift our focus without disrespect to what happened, we do have that forever, but we look to what has come out of it in the positive to try to move forward and heal with some rest.”
April 6 was declared as ‘Humboldt Broncos Day’ by Behiel, as a way to mark the day. He also branded the following day, April 7, as Green Shirt Day.
The day commemorates the contributions Logan Boulet and his family have made around recognizing and fundraising for organ and tissue donation.
“It has shifted from more of a somber day to a quiet remembrance time of reflection and a looking forward to the future situation,” said Behiel.
To honour the day of the collision, commemorative videos played at the Elgar Petersen Arena and online content posted for those around the province for others affected by the tragedy.
Families of the 2017-18 Humboldt Broncos team prepared the arena event alongside the city. The event was similar to the year before, recognizing that last year, family consultations had proved a low-key approach to the day would be appreciated.
“The Elgar Petersen Arena will be open to the public to come and go as they wish to pay their respects and reflect from 4:45 p.m. to 5:30 pm. During this time, a compilation of videos will be played on the Jumbotron for those who choose to attend,” a release said from the city earlier in the week.
Around 4:50 p.m., the bells at St. Augustine Church tolled 29 times, marking the time that the tragedy occurred and the individuals on the bus.
A moment of silence was held to remember those who didn’t walk away.
The town of Humboldt is still healing.
“You have a wound, and it turns into a scar,” said memorial committee member and former city Mayor Rob Muench before the service. “It’s just one of those things.”
“People are going to treat today a little different. It is five years.”
— with files from the Canadian Press