WINNIPEG BEACH, MAN. – A Manitoba man says it’s good to see changes are being made to a rural intersection, where his daughter was killed in a collision earlier this month.
A week after a crash that killed four people, changes are being made at the intersection Highways 229 and 8 in Manitoba’s Interlake region.
Pavement markings have been repainted; rumble strips are being repaired and flashing red lights above the stop signs are expected soon.
“We anticipate the flashing lights to be added by the end of the week,” a spokesperson for Manitoba’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor told CTV News in a statement.
“The safety of Manitoba highways is a top priority of our government.”
“We will incorporate the RCMP report into our review of the intersection to work to make the intersection safer,” the statement reads.
These changes come after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew promised changes to the intersection at an unrelated press conference last week.
But Tom Borsa, who lost his 18-year-old daughter Maya Borsa in the collision, says more could be done.
“It’s a start. I believe that major intersections like this should be controlled with lights,” he said.
“People just have, the tendency to try to get to the cottage fast enough, and we just need to slow down, take our time.”
RCMP said the collision occurred at the intersection of Highways 229 and 8 near Winnipeg Beach, Man., in Manitoba’s Interlake region. Police say a vehicle travelling west on Highway 229 with the four teenagers, was struck while crossing Highway 8 by a van heading southbound.
The intersection has stop signs for westbound and eastbound traffic. Both vehicles ended up in the southwest ditch, police said, with one vehicle rolling onto its roof.
The other victims have been identified as 18 year olds Braiden Davis and Chloe Vermette, and 17-year-old Landyn Kay-Cameron.
Borsa says it’s been a devastating time for him and his family.
“It’s been absolutely agonizing. I can’t describe our pain,” he said.
“She was just a very special person. She was my babygirl, and she was my wife’s precious babygirl as well.”
Borsa says the tragedy could have been prevented, pointing to a lack of safety measures at the intersection.
“I dubbed it the highway of death, and I truly believe it’s the highway of death,” he said.
Two fatalities had previously been reported at the same intersection over the past decade, according to Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) data. One happened this past July and another in 2021, both the result of a driver failing to yield the right of way, according to MPI.
The intersection has also been the site of 24 other collisions since 2017, with 13 happening in 2024 and 2025.
Winnipeg Beach Mayor Terry Calof says this intersection has been an issue for years.
“It’s been a buzz for a while, and this has brought it to a point where, according to the public, according to the feedback, that something has to be done permanently and immediately,” he said.
“The community has been devastated, and we’re doing the best we can right now to look at the safety issues of the intersection.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Calof said the province is also assessing whether or not additional overhead lighting is needed at the intersection.
For Borsa and his family, these changes will not bring their daughter back, however they hope the changes will prevent other families from experiencing the same pain.
“I personally believe it should never have happened, for safety devices to be not maintained or removed and not to have proper lighting in intersections,” he said.
“Let’s make it safe for everyone.”
