A serious crash this week at a curve in the road in St. Vital — where a teenager died in 2022 — has renewed concerns about speeding and prompted questions about whether additional safety measures are needed.
Surveillance video obtained by the Free Press appears to show a northbound car travelling at a high speed when it slammed into a guardrail, vaulted over the sidewalk and slammed into a business at the curve on St. Mary’s Road, north of Vivian Avenue, shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
“The car was flying,” said Minute Muffler Auto Service Centre owner Max Traa, after watching security videos of the crash.
“When it hit the barricade, it flipped, and the roof of the car slid along the (Midland Appliance World) building. The car then skidded on its roof and came into our lot.”
The car also collided with a hydro pole, a Minute Muffler sign pole and a motorhome that was parked in the auto shop’s lot.
Traa said the vehicle slid into view in surveillance video recorded by a camera at his shop. The occupants got out of the car and walked out of view, he said.
Car parts covered the road and Minute Muffler’s parking lot, just north of the curve, which is bordered by houses and businesses. The speed limit is 60 km/h, although caution signs recommend a maximum speed of 40 km/h.
Winnipeg police have not yet released any information about the crash, which happened almost two years to the day a similar collision killed a 17-year-old standout youth soccer player.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
The exterior of Midland Appliance located at 473 St. Mary’s Rd. is boarded up and the guard rail split apart after a high speed crash occurred early Tuesday morning.
David Bunguke, who had dreams of pursuing a professional soccer career, was a passenger in a car that went out of control at the left curve and hit a pole near Guay Avenue at about 9 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2022.
The driver, who was 18 at the time, was later charged with criminal negligence causing death. Police said speed and the manner of driving were factors.
The city’s budget set aside $495,000 in 2025 to study potential traffic flow improvements on St. Mary’s, between St. Anne’s Road and Tache Avenue.
St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes wants the curve and potential safety improvements to be included in the study.
“In trying to improve the traffic flow, we should be able to address some safety concerns as well,” he said. “This certainly can be part of it if you’ve got a recurring issue.”
City spokeswoman Julie Dooley Horbal said speed and road-safety culture are two of five key focus areas within Winnipeg’s road-safety strategic action plan.
Plan activities include reviewing speed limits, promoting data-driven speed enforcement and developing and implementing a speed management policy, she said.
Renu Bansal, owner of Re-Nu Hair Salon, located next to Midland Appliance World, opened her business eight years ago.
She said Tuesday’s crash is at least the third during that span to involve a vehicle that collided with a building, car or pole, after veering off the road at or just metres north of the curve.
“This does not normally happen. Otherwise, traffic is very normal,” said Bansal.
“In the corner of my eye, I saw the flash of a car going by … The engine sound was unbelievably loud.”–Don Cairns, owner of EyeSee Computers and Security Cameras
A few years ago, a driver lost control of their vehicle and crashed into an unoccupied parked car belonging to one of Bansal’s clients.
“She was going quite fast,” the salon owner said of the driver. “I was glad (my customer) was inside the shop.
Bansal and Traa were among those who expressed concerns about speeding drivers, and the potential for pedestrians or other vehicles to be struck.
A bus stop is located on the sidewalk in front of Minute Muffler.
“I’ve heard and seen people go around that corner too fast,” said Don Cairns, owner of EyeSee Computers and Security Cameras. “If you do the limit, you certainly don’t have trouble, unless maybe in winter.”
A camera outside of Cairns’ store recorded video of Tuesday’s crash and the fatal collision in 2022.
He heard the sound of the latest crash while working late.
“In the corner of my eye, I saw the flash of a car going by,” he said. “The engine sound was unbelievably loud.”
Cairns said the car appeared to be travelling well above the speed limit as it entered the curve.
He said the lights in his store went out momentarily when the vehicle hit a utility pole and a building, stirring up a huge cloud of dust.
“It’s amazing if (the car’s occupants) lived,” said Cairns, who called 911 to report the crash.
His video showed two vehicles stopping at the scene. Police and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members arrived a short time later, he said.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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