Alexandra Zbaraschuk does not want to see more crashes on the stretch of highway between Prince Albert and the Shell River Bridge. (submitted photo/Alexandra Zbaraschuk)

By Nigel Maxwell

Highway safety

‘Every day I wake up knowing that I am fortunate’: crash victim supports Highway 3 twinning proposal

Feb 9, 2021 | 5:00 PM

For Prince Albert’s Alexandra Zbaraschuk, twinning the section of Highway 3 between Prince Albert and the Shell River bridge, is very personal.

On Nov. 22, 2018, she suffered significant injuries after her car was T-boned by a westbound semi at the Whitford Road intersection. Zbaraschuk was just 16 at the time.

Years later, she wrote a personal letter to the premier asking for a commitment by the government to twin a 10 km stretch of Highway 3. A copy of the letter was also included with Monday’s correspondence package for the Rural Municipality (RM) of Buckland’s recent council meeting.

Zbaraschuk described the day of the crash in her letter. She said the morning traffic was heavy, roads were icy and fog was in the area.

“My car stalled as I was trying to cross into the lane heading into Prince Albert from R & W Custom Collision and the semi didn’t see me, hitting me on the driver’s door at highway speed,” she wrote.

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Following the crash, Zbaraschuk spent the next three weeks in the pediatrics intensive care unit (ICU), at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, before getting transferred back to Prince Albert.

“To this day I struggle with my physical and mental health,” she said. The crash left her with 16 fractures, fascial nerve damage, seven broken ribs, a displaced heart, and a collapsed lung.

A photo of the intersection where the crash occurred in 2018. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Zbaraschuk also expressed her willingness to be an advocate for highway or seatbelt safety in any manner required by either the provincial government or SGI.

“Every day I wake up knowing that I am fortunate and work hard at getting healthy,” she said. “Please make the correct decision to twin Highway 3 a priority, so we can try and mitigate the loss of any more lives or catastrophic injuries.”

Similar calls for action have come in recent weeks from both the RM of Buckland as well as the Town of Shellbrook. The mayor of Prince Albert also expressed his support for a twinning project between Prince Albert and the Shell River bridge.

According to statistics provided by Buckland Reeve Don Fyrk, there have been 414 collisions on Highway 3 between Prince Albert and Shellbrook in the last decade. From those, 67 have resulted in some form of personal injury and there were five fatalities. In a pair of separate crashes before Christmas, three lives were lost near the Whitford Road intersection.

Fyrk also explained access to McLeod Road was of particular concern, because the turn is immediately after a curve on the highway, resulting in reduced sightlines for those travelling on the highway and for those entering the highway from McLeod Road.

A statement provided to paNOW from the Ministry of Highways indicated a detailed safety assessment will be conducted this year on the section of Highway 3 between Prince Albert and the Shell River Bridge.

“Any work identified through this safety assessment is expected to be tendered this fall, with construction anticipated the following year. The assessment will look at all options for safety improvements in the area, including twinning,” the statement said.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell