Moffat Whenever we find two patients in an ambulance, that ambulance will leave and the next ambulance will be ready for the two patients. When we saw the time of the ambulance at the scene, there were about 15 minutes in each ambulance, which could not be heard. We knew its intensity. Trauma alert was called to our hospital. Our hospital has taken serious patients and they have been taken there.
John Griffiths, respondent at Stars Emergency Link Center The call probably came with STARS after quarter to five. Little did they know that there was a big bus accident. They didn’t know anything was happening. They were just the location. I was not on shift. I started my shift at 19:00 and we usually show up a little early, so I was there. At about 6:45 I picked up the helicopter that landed at the scene. I landed there and made sure everyone was already on their way to the hospital. The patients, the most serious, were actually evacuated by ground ambulance and taken to two hospitals, Nipawin and Tisdale, so the helicopter actually left the scene without any patients and flew to Nipawin, where they landed and then the medical crew and transport doctors treated the patients. Started.
Matthew’s father, Rob Gomarsic, who received a call from another parent at his Winnipeg home, said Matthew had been taken to hospital. I said: “Can you give me more information than that?” He said: “No, that sounds really bad. There’s going to be good news and bad news.” We hoped he wouldn’t get worse. It was quite nerve-wracking.
Griffiths With so much trauma, the blood supply to the local hospital is being cut off. For many patients, you may be exhausted. We’re based in Calgary. So Alberta was able to pack units of blood from two hospitals in Alberta, put them on a plane and then send a bunch to Nipawin for help. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of blood being spilled from one province to another. It wasn’t just a question. It was “Send whatever you need, Alberta is happy to help.”
Mike Schlosser, a close friend of Elgar Petersen We had dinner with our son in Saskatoon. I received a text that the bus had crashed. We got in the car and I called Elgar and told him there would be no game tonight, the bus had crashed. Immediately, he asked if anyone had been killed and I said: “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound good. It sounds serious, but I’ll keep you updated. “I think he called four times between 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm.
Shawna Nordstrom, mother of right winger Logan Hunter We were waiting to get some news of what happened in this accident and some of his dear friends came and they want to stay with me and we keep praying in a huge circle that he is getting well, was in one of those small hospitals or airlifted to Saskatoon. It happened because we knew the STARS ambulance was on site. We just hung out with each other, we prayed as hard as we could, and the clock kept ticking and no news was coming our way so a group of my friends went with me to Saskatchewan and Logan’s older sisters came with their honest brother. We had to go to the Royal University Hospital [in Saskatoon] As fast as we can.
Scott Thomas, father of Center Evan Thomas I was riding in the same car with the parents of the other team’s starting goalkeeper. You see an ambulance flying over your left shoulder, you see a second, you see a third, and you see the STARS Air Ambulance fly over your head. You have this really bad feeling and you realize it’s going to get worse.
Jack Radlick, head coach of the St. Albert Riders, where some of the Broncos, including Logan Hunter, played I grabbed Logan’s mother just to see how she was doing. They were already driving in Saskatoon. They haven’t heard anything yet, they have to go there. I couldn’t imagine that drive – six hours from Edmonton to Saskatoon. They did not know if their son was alive or dead. They had nothing.
Thomas We pulled from the west side until the accident. You can see bubbles – red, blue flashing lights – everywhere. And police cars and firetracks across the highway basically prevent anyone else from going. You can see the top of the bus, you can see the carnage, the rolled metal, a piece of the bus is straight. There was a dead, horrible silence with everyone around. Feelings of nervous anticipation and fear when you know something bad is coming.
Paul Labelle, a Saskatoon emergency room doctor and father of Xavier Labelle I went to the scene, but they gave me back.
Thomas You play those scenes in your mind and you see them in the movies – the boys are trying to fight the police officer to get there. I didn’t have that feeling. It was a feeling of resignation. I started walking backwards, it was cold, so I walked back to the car to keep my mind occupied. It was a feeling of resignation, like: “Oh my God. What now?”
Russell Harold Adam’s coach [with the midget triple-A Regina Pat Canadians, Darren Mckechnie], Called us and asked if we knew anything. He is a Regina police officer. I said: “No, Darren. We’re in panic here. If you can find anything.” He texted us a number for a crisis line. We called to say he was in Nipawin Hospital. We thought: “Okay, we’re glad she’s alive.” But he had no record at Nipawin Hospital. We called the crisis line again and they said: “No, he is there. She is on the list. ” He told us to wait a minute, came back to the line and asked where we were. We were an hour’s drive from Tisdale. He said: “Go to Tisdale Hospital.”