The tragic crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team in Saskatchewan is bringing back painful memories for members of the Windsor Wildcats.
The girls hockey team was on a bus in upstate New York in 2005 when it slammed into a transport truck parked on the side of a highway in a crash that killed four people.
Carleigh Weldon was one of the survivors of that crash, and she admits the tragedy in Saskatchewan has been difficult to comprehend.
“I can't believe it happened again. That was my first reaction.”
15 people aboard the bus died and another 14 were injured when the bus collided with a truck on route to a playoff game about 300 kilometres north of Regina, Saskatchewan on Friday.
Weldon and her former Wildcat teammates are spread out across the country now, but she admits they have been in contact since Friday's crash.
Weldon, who was 19 years old at the time of the 2005 crash, tells CTV Windsor they still deal with a range of emotions.
“The days, the weeks, the years are really difficult,” admits Weldon. “They're going to experience posttraumatic stress, maybe survivor’s guilt, a bunch of different emotions.”
Mourning will give way to healing and Weldon says that's when dealing with the tragedy becomes a struggle.
“It's after things die down, that's when it gets hard but 13 years later people are still thinking about us so that definitely helps. “
Weldon says she is happy the entire nation is rallying around the Broncos.
“They’re going to need it. That's the kind of support that's going to lift them up when they need it the most.”
Weldon says the Wildcats still get together on the anniversary of their crash, to remember the four victims who died.
She adds their team will reach out to the Broncos and be there for them if need a shoulder to lean on.
