Four teenagers are dead following a vehicle collision near Winnipeg Beach over the weekend, with the father of one victim calling it “an absolute nightmare” and demanding safety changes.
According to RCMP, the collision happened Sunday when a vehicle travelling west on Highway 229 was struck while crossing Highway 8 by a southbound van. Police say officers responded to the crash at approximately 9:15 p.m.
The intersection has stop signs for westbound and eastbound traffic, police said. Both vehicles ended up in the southwest ditch, with one vehicle rolling onto its roof.
The four occupants of the westbound vehicle died at the scene, police said. The driver, an 18-year-old woman from Winnipeg, was joined in the vehicle by an 18-year-old man from Gimli, an 18-year-old woman from Sandy Hook, and a 17-year-old boy from Ear Falls, Ont.
Four people from Winnipeg were inside the van, which was driven by a 49-year-old man, RCMP said. The group, which also included an adult woman and two children, suffered minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Winnipeg.
A traffic reconstructionist from RCMP Traffic Services has been called in to assist with the ongoing investigation, police said.
‘Devastating pain’: Father remembers daughter, calls for highway changes
The 18-year-old woman from Sandy Hook has been identified by her family as Maya Borsa. Tom Borsa, Maya’s father, said the loss has been devastating for his family and the surrounding community.
“It’s absolutely terrible. It’s a terrible accident,” he told CTV News on Tuesday. “Absolutely devastating pain. Something that I don’t wish on anybody.
“We had four beautiful teenagers, two boys and two girls, that would have went on to great things in life, and it’s just a very, very sad situation.”
Borsa said the group of friends had gone out for ice cream in Winnipeg Beach Sunday night.
“It’s raining really bad, and whether the car hydroplaned, didn’t see, or what happened, I’m not sure,” he said. “But it was just bad timing.”
Borsa said he has repeatedly warned his own children to stay off Highway 8, referring to it as a “death trap” in the province.
Data from Manitoba Public Insurance indicated two fatalities have previously been reported at the same intersection over the past decade — one in 2021 and another this past July. Both were the result of a failure to yield the right of way, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation said.
The data also showed 24 collisions have been reported at the intersection since 2017, with wildlife cited as a major contributing factor in half of those.
Borsa is calling on the province to put traffic lights at the intersection and to double lane the highway.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about this right now because I’m basically dying inside,” he said. “But something needs to change. We can’t have young kids... dying on this highway. Had we had lights here, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Borsa described his daughter as a generous person who loved animals and was well known in the community.
“My daughter was a kind, beautiful soul. She would help everybody. She had tons of friends,” he said. “It’s just a senseless loss.”
He said Maya was Métis, loved beading and artwork, and had grown up around animals on the family farm, including chickens since she was four years old, along with dogs and cats.
“Maya aspired to be a vet, and we could totally see that,” he said. “She just had an effect on people that was addicting... She’s such a sweet girl.”
Borsa said his daughter has a twin brother who is “absolutely devastated” by her death, and that the family is focused on supporting him and Maya’s friends in the days ahead.
“We have to stay strong, and you have to carry on,” he said. “We have to keep her memory close to our heart.”
Fire chief, mayor call for intersection improvements
Dave Schellenberg, fire chief for Winnipeg Beach, said the intersection’s safety has long worried him and surrounding communities.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened,” he told CTV News on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, there have been numerous accidents and even more near-misses at that intersection.”
Schellenberg said the intersection has very limited lighting and sees heavy traffic, especially on long weekends.
“There are a couple of lights overhead, but it’s very limited,” he said. “It’s a dark intersection. I think that plays a big role in it.”
Winnipeg Beach Mayor Terry Calof said flashing red lights at the stop signs would improve visibility and added that the rumble strips on both sides of Highway 229 need repair.
“If they could be remediated, that would certainly help, because as it is now, you hardly feel anything through the steering wheel or hear any humming when you go over those rumble strips,” he said.
Calof said he spoke with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor on Tuesday morning and is optimistic that change is coming.
In a statement to CTV News, Naylor said she was “very saddened” by the crash and confirmed the province will conduct its own review of the intersection.
“Our priority is to keep our roadways as safe as possible,” the statement read in part.
Calof said he hopes the town can heal, though he acknowledged that will take time.
“The people involved, the families—they’re not going to heal quickly, if at all,” he said. “It was just such a tragic, tragic thing to lose four teenagers over something that was preventable.”
With files from CTV’s Danton Unger
