(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
WINNIPEG — A truck driver from Saskatchewan has been charged after a man and a child were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on a Manitoba highway Thursday.
RCMP say a number of vehicles were stopped in the eastbound lane of Highway 2 approximately three kilometres east of Fannystelle just before noon.
The vehicles had stopped at a marked construction zone and were waiting for direction from crews on scene to safely proceed. That’s when an eastbound semi-trailer failed to stop and drove into the lineup of vehicles.
RCMP say eight vehicles were involved in the crash, including two semi-trailers, five passenger vehicles and one motorcycle.
A seven-year-old girl from Winnipeg and a 61-year-old man from the RM of St. Andrews were pronounced deceased at the scene. The seven-year-old was in one of the passenger vehicles and the man was driving a motorcycle.
Fifteen people were injured and six were taken to hospital, including two adults, two children under 16 and two others under the age of three.
One adult and two of the younger children have since been released.
A 22-year-old woman, a 14-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl remain in hospital with serious injuries.
James Randell, 56, of Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, was arrested on scene. He faces several serious charges and remains in custody.
Carman RCMP and other agencies continue to investigate.
