According to RCMP, who were called in at 12:15pm on Saturday, October 21, a single vehicle, which was travelling southbound just north of the US border, veered onto the gravel shoulder. The driver lost control and went into the ditch and rolled. The 70-year old driver from St. Agathe, Manitoba, was seriously injured in the crash and was sent to Killarney Health Centre, and later transferred to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg where he is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Damage to the vehicle was extensive. No charges are pending and the RCMP investigation is concluded. Speed and alcohol were not factors in the accident and the driver was wearing his seatbelt, which likely kept his injuries from being more serious.
A witness and good samaritan on the scene was Stephanie Cruickshanks of the Brandon area. She said she came upon the accident as it happened just before noon. Not able to call on her cell phone, as there is no service in the area, she flagged down a vehicle. As Cruickshanks explained, the options for the other driver were to either take her cell phone and drive north, likely about ten minutes to get service, or to turn around and go back to Canadian Customs. They chose customs and headed there.
Due to no cell phone service in the area, EMS response time, she said, was likely slowed by ten minutes.
After getting Border Services to call 911, the driver returned to the scene accompanied by two Border Service agents, which allowed radio coverage with the 911 operator.
The situation made Cruickshanks nervous for the future.
“As I waited with the injured driver involved in the rollover I couldn’t help but think how this situation would be so much different in a year from now,” she said. “The EMS services in Boissevain are scheduled for closure, no amalgamation plans are announced for this service. I waited with the injured driver for EMS help to arrive from Boissevain; they arrived within about 35 minutes of me arriving on the scene. Remember, those same EMS staff had a 10-minute delay getting the call because we had to drive to get phone coverage. In 50 minutes, EMS and the fire fighter response crew had the driver out of the vehicle and into the ambulance and were offering more advance care and pain control to the driver.”
Cruickshanks said when the ambulance is no longer located in Boissevain it will add another 30 minutes to the time total. If she were doing CPR, it would have been a minimum of 60 minutes of chest compressions. What if there were major lacerations and bleeding? Those 60 minutes could be life or death.
“I have no doubt there will be more deaths in the years coming up due to the additional EMS response time.”
Cruickshanks pointed out several serious concerns. One is the lack of cell service in much of rural Manitoba, despite many election promises. Another is the planned closure of the ambulance station in Boissevain, the only one on #10 Highway south of Brandon. This is a busy highway close to the US border and the second busiest 24-hour port in the province. Why remove this? Also, the spot they were was too far out of range for the STARS emergency helicopter, which is a frightening and often an unknown complication.
The local EMS responded in excellent fashion given the delays they faced. Cruickshanks is concerned that this will not be the service people will see here in the future, and wants the Premier of Manitoba to know it.
“I find it appalling that I was on one of Manitoba’s busiest highways, within minutes of the second largest entry point between Canada and the United States (in Manitoba), and we would have been waiting a MINIMUM of 60 minutes for EMS response. This is not a rural Manitoba issue, this is a MANITOBA issue. The driver in the accident could well have been me, it could have been my family from Winnipeg or it could have been you Mr. Pallister. Mr. Pallister, if it were you I was waiting with, you lying in the ditch waiting for EMS, would you have found a 60-minute wait with your heart stopped, or bleeding out or in excruciating pain acceptable? No, I don’t believe you would have found that acceptable. We have to do better in Manitoba, WE NEED TO DO BETTER. The proposed changes to EMS will not make Manitoba the “Most Improved Province”, successful provinces take care of their residents.”
She commended EMS and Fire Department staff for their excellent work with positive attitude, saying she hopes never to need their services, but knew for a fact she would be in good hands if it were to happen. As for changes to service…
“To the people of Manitoba,” she stated, “this is not right, we can’t let rural Manitoba be given second or third rate service, it takes all of us to have a successful province.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff