Coroner’s Office In Canada Wrongly Named Victim In Humboldt Broncos Hockey Team Bus Crash

One of the victims of a fatal highway accident involving a junior hockey team bus in Canada last week was incorrectly named.

Humboldt Broncos Hockey Bus Crash Victims News

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice revealed Monday that the province’s coroner’s office wrongly identified one of the 15 individuals who died in the crash.

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The ministry stated that 18-year-old Parker Tobin was killed and not Xavier Labelle, a survivor who had previously been listed among the dead. It remains unknown why the error happened.

Following the error, the coroner’s office apologized.

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“Our condolences go out to the family of Parker Tobin,” the ministry’s statement said. “Unfortunately, Parker is one of the 15 that have lost their lives in this terrible tragedy. Parker had been misidentified and was previously believed to have survived.”

Tobin and Labelle were both players on the Humboldt Broncos team. Coach Darcy Haugan, bus driver Glen Doerksen and nine other players were also killed in the accident. The players’ ages ranged from 16 to 21.

The squad was headed to a playoff game Friday when a truck transporting moss crashed into their bus on a highway. The collision also caused 14 injuries.

Broncos club president Kevin Garinger stated that local police reached out to him Monday morning about the coroner’s office’s mistake, and that he is doing his best to console the families of the victims.

“At this point, I just want to reach out and support the families,” Garinger told ESPN. “It’s not about understanding anything.”

The city of Humboldt, Saskatchewan held a vigil on Sunday to commemorate the victims.

As of Monday afternoon, 12 people involved in the crash were still in the hospital, four of them in critical condition.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McClellan and Calgary Flames coach Glen Gulutzan were among those who visited the patients in the hospital. Former NHL star Sheldon Kennedy was also in attendance. Kennedy survived the 1986 bus accident that involved the Swift Current Broncos junior hockey team.

Kennedy became visibly emotional when addressing the media on Monday regarding his visit.

“To be able to have some conversations with some of those young people and their families and to be able to have a couple laughs and to be able to look in their eyes and tell ’em, you know, it’s good to see a smile,” Kennedy said. “To me, that stuff is important.”