Semi T-bones junior hockey team. 14 dead.

I'm a tanker driver who lives not too far from there with hockey playing kids and I can say with certainty that the whole of Sask is in shock at the magnitude of this tragedy.
It brings into sharp focus, if it were needed, of my responsibilities as a driver, every second that I am on the highway. A lapse in concentration for 1 second can have devastating consequences as we all know.
Prayers and condolences to all involved.

 

Truely heartbreaking. Last I heard the coach and 13 players were lost.

Prayers from Alberta

 

D###! This is horrible. I imagine this isn't easy on you either.

 

oh..ok, thanks

 

Well, hold on a sec, I can imagine the anguish, but the driver didn't plan to do this, it was a momentary lapse that had disastrous results, they will have plenty of nightmares. We've all been there, and don't say you haven't, because I don't believe it, we, for whatever reason, didn't kill anyone.
The thing that gets me, is the timing of these things, before computers, it would have taken Hollywood 10 tries to get it right. Like I say, if this driver would have just missed a gear, or something, this never would have happened. That's the creepy part.

 

I would be most interested in knowing the state of any means of alerting drivers of an intersection and stop ahead, as well, was the driver driving the road for the first time or on a regular route?

Are there any rumble strips or warning signs well ahed of the intersection? A flashing red light or only a stop sign? If only a stop sign, was it in place at the time? I saw one photo [that I presumed was at the scene of the accident] that indicated some patchy black ice at one of the approaches to the intersection. Perhaps a factor, perhaps not.

Is that road on Google Street view?

 

"Creepy"... it's a phenomenon I have often wondered about due to the nature of the traffic on these roads. I have travelled many hundreds of thousands of kilometres on roads in northern Canada. You can drive, literally for hours sometimes, without seeing another vehicle. Then, as you're approaching an intersection, there is one. Or, just as you want to pass a vehicle, there is one.

 

Saskatchewan Highway 35 at Highway 335 (Google Maps: Humboldt, SK, SK-335, SK-35, Ridgedale, SK S0E 1L0), bus was northbound on 35 and had the right-of-way, semi was westbound on 335 and had a stop sign with flashing red light. All indications at this point are that the sign was present and the light was active. The police are being extremely thorough.

This is facing east, the direction the semi was coming from (Street View is not available on 335 east of 35).

 

Flashing red light and intersection lighting. If the power was on at the time and there was no dense fog or other weather factors, that leaves little to blame for this tragedy other than driver fault.