God Bless The Broncos!!!
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Heavy grief and sorrow might be alleviated somewhat, if all surviving people work to prevent other unnecessary loss of lives in the future. That applies to all unnecessary tragedies that occur daily around the world. Besides expressing prayers and sorrow, how can the living work to improve future safety & well-being of all people?
While the driver of the tractor-trailer truck survived, all indications so far show that the truck -- with the stop sign -- indirectly T-boned the bus. The bus driver was killed after a direct frontal impact into the mid-side of the tractor-trailer, which apparently came through the stop sign at high speed, surprising the bus driver.
Grieving families need to learn if the driver of the tractor-trailer saw flashing red-lights attached to the STOP sign; did the tractor-trailer run-through the stop sign without stopping? Were the flashing red-lights working at c. 5PM, the time of the crash? Could this tragedy have been prevented, if the heavy trees on the southeast side of the corner had not blocked a good view of the intersection in a rural area?
This Canadian tragedy reminds me of a recent death of two young women T-boned by a stolen-car, slowly being pursued (at first) by a North Carolina sheriff-deputy who followed the stolen car -- in efforts to pull it over -- before the stolen-car reached near 85-miles-an-hour at the busy intersection of Battleground Ave and New Garden Rd. All life matters, without counting.
3
I want to send my sincere condolences and prayer to the family and friends of these young men and staff who perished, and who were injured, in this tragedy. I also want to send prayers to the community of Humbolt, the billet families, and everyone in the Broncos organization. I am in Shreveport, Louisiana, and we too have a Junior Hockey team, the Shreveport Mudbugs, with the NAHL, that is a big part of our community. We get to know these boys and the staff as friends throughout the year. I can't even imaging the pain we would go through if such a tragedy were to occur here. But I know the pain that I do imagine is only a small fraction of what is actually felt. I am truly saddened by your loss. I just wanted you to know, that this tragedy has sent a very painful shock wave through the Hockey community, and you are not going through this alone. We have our first playoff game this weekend. I guarantee you, your team will be remembered and honored on Friday night.
5
This is tearing at the very fabric of Canadian life.
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“We aren’t built to not get attached,” Ms. Cannon told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “We take every single boy that’s ever come into our house right into our hearts and into our family.”
That's a heartbreaking quote....
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WOW - that quote truly brings tears to my eyes. It's as equally touching as it is sad and devastating.
6
Such a terrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to all family and friends affected by this senseless tragedy.
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One of the bleakest movies I ever saw was called The Sweet Hereafter and it was about a bus full of Children crashing in Canada, killing most of the passengers. How tragic to see life imitate art. My heart aches for the families.
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I cannot imagine the incalculable loss that the families of the victims feel. I find it equally as difficult to fathom the loss of the twenty children on their school bus in India that were swept into a chasm. I'm puzzled as to why one was reported by the NYT and not the other.
8
Maybe the 5500 mile border we share?
3
Sorry, but why is this a "Canadian" tragedy? Living here I am intimately aware of the power of hockey on the national psyche. But is that a good thing? Imagine that 15 bright Chinese Canadian girls from Toronto were off to a chess tournament in Vienna and their plane crashed. Would we still call it a national tragedy? Would we feel "devastated"? As a parent my heart breaks for this loss, but should I feel any more about this than I should for the death of any child? Why is this a greater loss?
2
Hockey IS the heart of our nation. Why on earth would you question our need to morn these talented young men?
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Of course they would both be recognized as national tragedy. Not sure why you are criticising using ' hypothetical scenarios. ' This is not the time or place to be doing that.
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Any loss, particularly of a child, is harsh and difficult to accept. And of course it would be a national tragedy if 15 Chinese-Canadian chess players were killed (nice use of a racist stereotype, BTW). But yes, this is a particularly Canadian tragedy, much as a football team in Texas' loss would be an American tragedy. These are sports rooted in a sense of place, and if I have to explain that to you, then you either haven't been in Western Canada very long or aren't a hockey person. What makes it particularly tragic is the volume of loss - 15 people all at once is incredible to ponder. Given the way hockey is woven into the fabric of Canadian life, each of these kid's deaths touches hundreds, if not thousands, of people. That breadth of impact makes it a devastating tragedy.
5
It devastates hearts of people like me who cannot even place the Humboldt town on Canada's map. Neighbors, we feel your pain and say prayers for the young folks who are gone and their families who are missing and grieving over their loved ones.
8
This unbelievable, heart-wrenching tragedy brings back memories of my college years where I hung out with the young hockey players who emigrated from Canada to the U.S. after being recruited from the Juniors - just as it describes in this poignant telling of the town of the Broncos, Humboldt and Saskatachewan's passionate love of hockey.
Most of the kids I hung out with (and dated) were from tiny farm communities in rural Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They were a bit rough around the edges (with a few missing teeth), but they had big dreams and a number of them did indeed go on to play in the NHL after graduating. They were a fun, crazy, exciting bunch of characters and those memories help me understand the depth of grief everyone must be feeling, as well as the huge, unbearable loss this represents. Oh Canada!
My heart just aches for the Humboldt community, for the parents and loved ones of these young men, and for the Canadian hockey world overall. This is such a useless tragedy - to lose so many promising young lives just at the cusp of them becoming men. I'm so, so sorry. Your hearts are broken. Our hearts are broken. May your faith, and the young men who survived, help rebuild the Broncos team into something that honors their departed teammates with glory and pride.
6
We are absolutely heart broken.
9
I have nothing new to add, but didn't want it to seem like a relative lower number of comments means that people don't care or aren't reading and listening. We are. I'm in tears with every article. This is beyond heartbreaking, and I hold this town, its people, the players and their families, all of Canada, in my heart.
Much love being sent from your North American brethren.
31
Sometimes the low number of comments means that every reader of the article is thinking and feeling the same thing.
18
Thank you for your thoughtful and touching comment Tasha, it made me tear up. The degree of loss and pain these folks are enduring is almost unimaginable and unbearable.
9
there is no meaningful comment to add.
2
This horrific tragedy reminded me of the plane crash in 1970 which killed 37 Marshall University football players, the head coach, the athletic director, the team’s doctor, 25 team boosters as well as the flight crew. The town's people of Huntington were tremendously devastated.
Such deep and heart wrenching sorrow for the families, friends, and entire town of Humboldt. Please know that so many grieve for and with you. For a very long time, you will be remembered and thoughts of you will be tucked away in so many hearts and souls. I wish you inner strength and some semblance of peace in these darkest of times.
Deepest condolences.
28
It is difficult to find adequate words to describe the shock and horror of tragedy. Intense outpouring of emotion from Humboldt, is being felt and resonates across Saskatchewan, Canada and the world. Those of us from afar can never truly know the devastation experienced in this close knit community and can only imagine the intense grief felt by relatives, friends and neighbours of the many victims. Although we cannot be there to show our support, we are horrified by the tragedy and morn the loss you suffer. We also admire your spirit, your compassion and your resolve.
Please do not step back from the good this team does. Do not let this loss hollow out your community. Keep moving forward and celebrate the good in your community.
29
Some things in this life are just far too difficult to bear alone, and grief for one's own dead children is surely one of those things. So let us do whatever we can to let the heartbroken parents, families, friends and community where tragedies such as this unfold know that they are not alone.
39
what can we say? all across America, our hearts are breaking for you.
44
May I please lay my flowers and my heart on those steps covered in rainbow colors for the lost loved ones of Humboldt Candada? I know how much Canada loves Hockey and takes pride in this sport but those of you filled with grief-and there's no one that isn't touched in the entire nation in this terrible loss of human life, especially such young life, which is so much more painfull to bear in anquish and heartbreak. There are people, I am one of them, who around the world who are sending you healing thoughts and spending time thinking about this awful event and the long term impact to so many families and friends who have had their lives changed forever. Life changes in an instant. Knowing that this is true makes me aware of being kind and expressing love daily to all those around me, especially my husband and children. You can never tell them I love you enough, in my opinion, or how much they mean to you. And sadly, we will never know in life when its the very last time we ever have a chance to tell them. I'm not only talking about saying those words--I'm talking about deeds of love daily. For its actions that have so much more meaning (its those small little gestures done that mean the most!).
All weekend since I read about the Broncos I've been listening to my two favorite men from Canada, men I love, men that soothe this aching world for me the most. Glenn Gould and Leonard Cohen. For parents, life will never be the same. For the rest of us, it helps. Maybe.
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