New safety upgrades in progress for site of crash that killed 4

WINNIPEG — Provincial workers have started to update or install safety measures at a rural Interlake intersection where four teenage friends died in a crash on the Labour Day weekend.

Pavement markings were repainted at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach, ahead of work to refresh worn-down rumble strips, starting Monday, and install flashing lights atop two stop signs, following an assessment earlier this week.

“They will also need to incorporate any information from the RCMP report that might be helpful if we were to consider any additional safety measures at this intersection,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said of department staff.

“The most important thing is safety, and any kinds of changes we make at any intersection actually have to make it safer.”

Staff is assessing whether additional overhead lighting is needed, she said.

Two fatal crashes happened at the intersection this summer. The province began a review of the junction after an 86-year-old Teulon man died in a two-vehicle crash July 2.

The review was ongoing when Sunday night’s crash killed 18-year-olds Maya Borsa of the Sandy Hook area, Braiden Davis of Gimli and Chloe Vermette of Winnipeg, and 17-year-old Landyn Kay-Cameron, who lived in Ear Falls, Ont., and was raised in Manitoba.

Kay-Cameron’s family marked what would have been his 18th birthday Friday. Raised by grandparents in Stony Mountain and Teulon, he is survived by his mother, two older brothers and an unborn child, his aunt, Crystal Cameron, wrote in a letter to Naylor demanding additional safety measures.

The teens were in a westbound car on PR 229 when it was struck by a southbound van on Highway 8. The intersection, about 60 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has stop signs for traffic on PR 229.

Naylor said the flashing lights that will go atop the stop signs have been ordered. She expects them to be installed in the next week or two. Existing signs on PR 229 alert drivers that stop signs are ahead.

The van was occupied by a man, woman and two children from Winnipeg who suffered minor injuries, RCMP said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Some of the teenagers’ families publicly called on the NDP government to make changes that they hope will prevent collisions. They noted the highway has become busier over the years, especially on Fridays and weekends when Manitobans head to and from beaches and cottages.

The province is installing 16 km of passing lanes on Highway 8 between Highway 67 and Gimli.

“That will make a really big difference for people travelling north or south on Highway 8,” Naylor said.

» Winnipeg Free Press