Six Broncos players still at RUH, 2 critical
The Humboldt Broncos player who came to symbolize the team’s resiliency in the wake of a tragic bus crash has left Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital (RUH).
Broncos defenceman Ryan Straschnitzki, who is from Airdrie, Alta., was paralyzed from the chest down in the horrific April 6 highway collision. He was flown to Calgary on Thursday morning.
Straschnitzki, who turns 19 today, was admitted to Foothills Hospital in Calgary, where he will continue his recovery. Six of the 13 players who survived the crash remained at RUH Thursday, two of them still in critical condition.
Ryan’s father, Tom, volunteered to drive his son’s car back to Alberta, so he had yet to leave Saskatoon on Thursday. He praised RUH staff, including security and cleaners.
“His stay was fantastic for the shape he was in,” Tom said.
He gained an appreciation for Saskatchewan people, who donated everything from massages to food, with someone even delivering a baked lasagna to RUH, he said.
Ryan has mixed feelings leaving his teammates who remain in hospital, he added.
“I think he’s 50 per cent happy to go home and 50 per cent sad not to be here.”
A Twitter account has documented Ryan’s recovery at RUH, posting photos of visitors like Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Stanley Cup.
After finding out he was paralyzed, Ryan expressed a desire to make the Olympic sledge hockey team.
The collision between the Broncos team bus and a semi-trailer truck killed 16 of the people on board.
The crash investigation has taken priority over any other RCMP case in the province, RCMP assistant commissioner and Saskatchewan RCMP commanding officer Curtis Zablocki said Thursday.
While every case police investigate is important, “this one, given the magnitude, scope and complexity” is being prioritized, he said at a news conference in Regina.
“There’s a lot of unanswered questions,” Zablocki said.
He confirmed the semi was in the intersection at the time of the collision, but said he could not comment on its speed. “We want to answer the question of why the truck was in the intersection,” Zablocki said. The semi was driving on Highway 335, which has stop signs at the intersection with Highway 35, where the crash happened.
The truck driver, who was not hurt, was taken into custody after the collision and released later that night. He remains in “regular contact” with police, Zablocki said, adding the driver’s level of experience, the size of his load and where he was headed will be part of the investigation.
Investigators have conducted more than 50 interviews with independent witnesses, the truck driver, the truck company’s owner and some survivors. More than 5,500 photos have been taken and analyzed, and 3D technology and drones have been used at the scene.
Police have recovered “all available documentation” from the scene, including driver log books “looking at hours of work, rest time, brake checks and compliance with safety standards,” Zablocki said.
Investigators have sent the engine control modules from both vehicles to California for further analysis of speed, change of speed, application of brakes and RPMs, he added.
Complex collision reconstruction investigations “are often measured in weeks and months, rather than days,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority did not identify which players remain in hospital.