A couple dozen people -- some wearing green, others in a random assortment of hockey sweaters -- stood in the heavy rain on Thursday to honour those killed or injured in last week's horrific Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
Students, faculty and staff huddled in the rain at the Georgian College cenotaph to pay tribute to members of the hockey team and others on the bus who were killed or injured in last week’s horrific bus crash in Saskatchewan.
The event in Barrie was organized by the Georgian College Students’ Association.
The Humboldt team’s bus collided with a transport truck last Friday near Tisdale, Sask., as the players were en route to a playoff game in Nipawin.
Sixteen people were killed in the crash, including the bus driver, radio play-by-play announcer, head coach, assistant coach and volunteer statistician, and another 13 were injured.
The team’s 24-year-old athletic therapist died on Wednesday.
Dripping wet from the downpour, one woman told BarrieToday the tragedy hit home because of the young ages of the people involved.
“And it’s a lifestyle,” she said of Canada’s game, which sees thousands of children and young adults travel Canadian highways in buses from game to game.
Staff and faculty at the Barrie campus were encouraged to wear hockey jerseys or a green shirt to honour the Broncos team colours on Thursday and join students at the cenotaph in support of families of the victims.
Numerous people inside the Barrie campus buildings wore a variety of hockey jerseys as they shuffled from class to class.
Fundraisers are also being held this weekend in Barrie to help support the families affected by the tragedy.
On Saturday, the Barrie Community Wellness Centre invites residents to make cards to send to the team, family and community at large.
The Barrie Minor Hockey Association will take part in the free event to be held Saturday at 59A Maple Ave., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
On Sunday, The Lockeroom in Barrie will donate 10 per cent of sales from the day to assist the families impacted by the Broncos crash.
Cash donations will be accepted and Humboldt Broncos T-shirts will be sold with money forwarded to the GoFundMe account.
Residents are also invited to lean hockey sticks on the wall outside The Lockeroom, on Cundles Road East, in tribute.
