Oakbank teen killed in train-motorbike collision

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This article was published 16/06/2019 (1775 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Muddy tracks from multiple emergency vehicles mark the spot just outside Oakbank where a 15-year-old boy was struck and killed by a train Sunday evening while riding his dirt bike.

Investigators said Monday it’s not yet clear what caused the crash that claimed the life of Cam Johnson, an Oakbank resident and high school student.

Emergency crews found the teen’s body just before 6 p.m. Sunday, near an uncontrolled Canadian Pacific Railway crossing at Spruce Road, roughly 1.5 kilometres from the community’s Main Street.

“RCMP (are)… still determining if the train hit him or if he hit the train,” Springfield Fire and Rescue Service Chief Jeff Hudson said. “I’m close with the family. I know them quite well. It’s been tough.”

He said family members remained on scene into the evening, alongside emergency crews.

On Monday, a family member said Johnson’s parents were still too emotional to comment.

Graham Sellen lives near the scene of the collision, and saw the emergency response Sunday night. He said the dirt road crossing the rail line — a mess of mud Monday after rains Sunday night — may have been a factor.

“A mud road seems very medieval, especially in today’s times, (and) so close to town.”

Sellen grew up in the area, and moved to Spruce Road three years ago with his two young children. He said it used to be a farm road but, in the last 10 years, new developments have brought the town closer.

When it’s busy in the community — such as Chicken Daze festivities this weekend — he said he sees six or seven cars an hour using the dirt road.

“It’s a concern. It’s a concern safety-wise,” said Sellen. “With kids running around in a country yard, the safety (is) an issue, for sure.”

He said there’s not a lot of off-road traffic but he’s seen ATVs and even a golf cart using Spruce Road — noting it is a quick off-highway detour to communities Hazelridge, Cook’s Creek and Birds Hill Park, as well as nearby gravel pits.

“Everyone’s pretty sad and shaken up,” Oakbank Mayor Tiffany Fell said. “Thoughts and prayers are with (the family), it’s something a family should never have to go through.”

Fell, who lives a few kilometres down Spruce Road, said the area would have been dry when the collision occurred.

She said the Rural Municipality of Springfield hasn’t discussed gravelling the road, but it is maintained regularly; council will discuss whether anything needs to change to make it safer.

Last month, a 19-year-old man was killed a few kilometres away in a crash with a garbage truck on Highway 12, one mile north of Anola. In April, a 17-year-old boy made a lucky escape after being hit by a train a few miles east at Briercliff Road and PR 213.

Sellen worried for the boy’s grieving family, noting the accident happened on Father’s Day. He said the road should be upgraded, as Oakbank continues to grow into old farmland.

“What is the value to a human life? How much is that worth? And we’re obviously seeing in this area that there are more accidents happening on a regular basis,” he said. “I feel that this issue’s only going to become — there’s only going to be more accidents like this. So how do we best prevent it?”

Sunrise School Division brought its divisional crisis team to all Oakbank schools Monday to help students grapple with the loss.

A spokesperson for CP Rail said the incident remains under investigation, and no crew members were injured.

tvanderhart@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @tessavanderhart