Saturday was a deadly day on Manitoba highways with three fatalities and 11 others being injured.
RCMP say in the span of less than 10 hours on Saturday, three serious collisions occurred.
“This is a tragedy,” said Inspector Ed Moreland with the Manitoba RCMP.
“We are continuously seeing drivers put their lives and the lives of others at risk by driving impaired, speeding or simply not paying attention.”
The first collision happened at around 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of Pipeline Road and the Perimeter Highway. Four vehicles were involved and nine people required medical attention.
A nine-year-old girl was taken to hospital in critical condition, while a 71-year-old woman was listed in unstable condition. Both have since been upgraded to stable condition in hospital.
RCMP say their investigation reveals a vehicle travelling southbound on Pipeline failed to stop at a red light and was hit by a minivan travelling eastbound on the Perimeter.
About 20 minutes later in the western part of the province, Brandon RCMP responded to an ATV crash on Provincial Road 340 about 8 km south of Shilo.
Investigators say the ATV was speeding in a ditch beside the roadway when it came upon an embankment, causing the ATV to travel through the air. Two men, aged 51 and 59 from Brandon, were pronounced deceased at the scene. RCMP say both were wearing seatbelts and helmets.
At 9:50 p.m., a 32-year-old man from Belmont, Manitoba was killed in a single-vehicle rollover on Highway 23 about 3 km east of Ninette.
RCMP say the pickup truck rolled and injured two male passengers, sending them to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor.
“There is no possible excuse for this behaviour and unless all Manitobans commit to safe driving, this loss of life will continue to occur,” Moreland continued.
“For those drivers on our roads that choose to put the lives of others in danger, the Manitoba RCMP will be doing everything it can to stop them and hold them accountable for their actions.”
