Manitoba community prepares to say goodbye to 15 seniors killed in bus crash

Joe Coffey is preparing for something that doesn't normally happen in his small community. He owns Sneath-Strilchuk Funeral Services, one of two funeral homes in Dauphin, Man., a city of 8,600 that is preparing to say goodbye to 15 seniors killed last week in a fiery bus crash.

Joe Coffey is preparing for something that doesn't normally happen in his small community.

He owns Sneath-Strilchuk Funeral Services, one of two funeral homes in Dauphin, Man., a city of 8,600 that is preparing to say goodbye to 15 seniors killed last week in a fiery bus crash.

"This isn't something that happens to funeral directors very often," Coffey said Tuesday.

The minibus was carrying the group of seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area to a casino Thursday, when it went into the path of a semi-trailer truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near the town of Carberry, some 190 kilometres to the south.

Health officials have said 10 others on the bus, including the driver, remained in hospital. Five were in critical condition.

Staff at the funeral home knew everyone who was on the bus, Coffey said. They saw them at church and at funerals. Some are related to the victims.

"It's an intimate connection," Coffey said.