A hearing will be held in The Pas this December to determine who can participate in an inquest into the death of the conductor of a Hudson Bay Railway train that crashed near Ponton just over two years ago.
In February, the medical examiner called an inquest into the death of 38-year-old Kevin Anderson of The Pas under the Fatality Inquiries Act. The inquest will examine the circumstances of Anderson’s death, the co-ordination of the multi-agency response to a serious incident in a remote setting, the protocols and policies that police, paramedics and first responders regarding operation in a potentially dangerous setting, and what, if anything can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future.
Anderson and one other man, who survived, were on a train that derailed when it hit a culvert where the tracks had been washed away southwest of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 39. The crash occurred around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 15, 2018 but it was not discovered until a couple of hours later when people in a helicopter flying over the area spotted the wreckage. Emergency personnel, including firefighter/paramedics from Thompson, were dispatched but did not reach the car where Anderson and his coworker were trapped until around midnight due to safety concerns about fuel leaking from the wreckage. Anderson died without having received medical attention and his remains were extricated from the train three days after the crash.
Prior to the actual inquest, a judge will determine who can participate in the process and question individual witnesses. People and organizations who wish to apply for standing to participate in the inquest must contact inquest counsel Peter Edgett at 204-918-0479 or Peter.Edgett@gov.mb.ca by Dec. 1. The standing hearing for the inquest into the death of Anderson will be held in courtroom A at The Pas Court Office at 1;30 p.m. on Dec. 18.
