'They weren't alone': 1 year later, families gathering in Dauphin to remember victims of bus crash

It's been one year since Garry Kufley lost his mom, Helen. 

The 88-year-old was among the 25 people on a bus that was hit by a semi at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man., on June 15, 2023. The passengers, most of whom were seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area, were on a day trip to a casino.

It was the deadliest bus crash in Manitoba history, leaving 17 people dead, including Helen. 

In the face of tragedy, Garry Kufley said his family has found comfort in thinking about how his mother would have been happy in her final moments.

 "They were on a trip with friends and doing something they liked," he said.

"They weren't alone."

He and his family plan to be among the other families, community members and first responders gathering in Dauphin on Saturday, to mark the one-year anniversary of the crash. They'll be honouring the victims with a memorial and unveiling a monument dedicated to those on the bus that day. 

The monument will sit in CN Park in the small western Manitoba city, with a bench installed beside it. 

"This is really something that came from the families," said Martijn van Luijn, the City of Dauphin's economic manager. 

"They wanted to have a place where people could come to and just kind of gather, or think."

Garry Kufley said the monument will help ensure people remember the crash and lives lost.

"It's not so much for us a reminder, because we know what happened," he said. "But for anybody who comes to Dauphin … it's something that people can see and know what happened." 

Helen Kufley was born in the municipality of Ethelbert, but moved to Dauphin with her husband after they sold the family farm, where they had raised their children.  

Even at 88, she lived independently, volunteered at her church and enjoyed community potlucks.