Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinder Group, Grande Prairie. Image via Facebook Seventh Day Adventist page
GRANDE PRAIRIE — Members of a Grande Prairie church are mourning the loss of an adult leader and supporting injured youth and volunteers after a charter bus carrying a church group crashed on a northern Alberta highway Saturday night.
The Grande Prairie Seventh-day Adventist Church said the bus was returning from a youth faith event when it lost control on icy roads near Debolt, about 60 kilometres east of Grande Prairie. One adult leader, identified by the church as Lillian Banda, was killed at the scene.
Pastor Dan Wilson said the group did its best to help one another in the moments after the crash, which occurred in darkness and cold conditions.
“One of our kids found a phone and called 911,” Wilson said in a statement shared by the church. “Some will need broken bones repaired. All will need healing of the heart.”
RCMP say the charter bus was carrying 37 passengers, including children and adults. A 50-year-old woman from Grande Prairie was pronounced dead at the scene. Six people were taken to hospital with serious injuries, while 16 others were assessed and later released. Passengers who were not injured were taken to the Debolt fire hall for shelter.
The Alberta Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church confirmed the person who died was an adult leader with the Grande Prairie Pathfinder Club, a youth program serving children between 10 and 17 focused on leadership, service and outdoor activities.
Wilson said church members who were injured are either recovering at home or remain in hospital, and pastors and counsellors are being made available to support families and youth affected by the crash. He also asked for prayers for the bus driver, whom he described as deeply shaken by the incident.
Tim Lindsay, executive vice-president of STA Canada, the parent company of Diversified Transportation, said the company is not commenting further at this stage.
“We are not issuing a statement at this time as the investigation is just beginning today,” Lindsay said.
RCMP say an initial investigation suggests road conditions may have contributed to the collision. A collision reconstructionist attended the scene, and the investigation remains ongoing.
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