Doug Westhouse sits straight behind the wheel of a 12-passenger bus driving along a rural Manitoba highway waiting for the next call for a ride.

The coordinator and driver for Grand Plains Handivan in Greenview, Man., slows the hefty vehicle down as an oncoming semi-trailer truck passes by on Highway 5.

He says he害羞草研究所檚 been thinking a lot about another minibus, not much larger than the one he drives, that crashed with a semi last week on the same road. Fifteen seniors on the bus were killed.

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 just sorrow,害羞草研究所� Westhouse says.

The bus was heading south on Highway 5, carrying a group of seniors from Dauphin and the surrounding area to a casino Thursday, when it crossed the Trans-Canada Highway and went into the path of the truck near the town of Carberry, some 190 kilometres to the south.

Health officials have said 10 others on the bus, including the driver, were in hospital. Five were in critical condition.

害羞草研究所淏eing familiar with that corner, it害羞草研究所檚 a dangerous corner,害羞草研究所� says Westhouse, shaking his head.

害羞草研究所淭hey should have stoplights there.害羞草研究所�

Westhouse has been driving minibuses and other passenger vehicles for years, after retiring from his career as a welder. His current job with Grand Plains Handivan sees him transport seniors and people with disabilities from Grandview and Gilbert Plains about 50 kilometres east to Dauphin for medical and dental appointments, grocery shopping and visits with family and friends.

He smiles while talking about a regular passenger, a woman in her 90s who害羞草研究所檚 fiercely funny and visits her husband in a nearby care home.

Another passenger, a younger woman who uses a wheelchair, calls him grandpa.

The customers are like family, he says.

Westhouse knows one woman who was on the bus that crashed. She had just bought new furniture for her home and was excited for the delivery on Monday, he says.

He pauses. 害羞草研究所淪he was so nice.害羞草研究所�

He hasn害羞草研究所檛 heard yet if she was killed or survived. RCMP are to release the names of the victims on Thursday.

Quality Care Transit in Dauphin owned the bus involved in the crash. RCMP have said 25 people were on board.

Grand Plains Handivan buses are smaller. There害羞草研究所檚 the 12-passenger bus, an older 15-passenger bus and a wheelchair-accessible minivan.

Westhouse says they get a safety check every year. And before each trip, drivers check around the vehicle to ensure it害羞草研究所檚 in good condition. All passengers are required to wear seatbelts and wheelchairs are clipped in to the floor.

Westhouse says he knows all the grain bins, trees and dangerous intersections on the routes he takes multiple times each day.

But he still has to be cautious.

The busdrives differently than other vehicles, he says. It takes a lot longer to accelerate, and a lot longer to slow down.

Despite giant side view mirrors, there are still blind spots, he adds. Before crossing a highway or making a turn, drivers of the larger buses have to do an extreme 害羞草研究所渉ead bop.害羞草研究所�

Lean far forward, look both ways, lean back and do the same thing, he says.

For seniors in communities across Manitoba, these buses are an essential means of travel.

Westhouse uses the wheelchair-accessible van to pick up a client from an appointment in Dauphin and take him back to Grandview. A volunteer who helps seniors get to appointments also gets on.

They chat about health careand the hot weather as the van passes by farmhouses and fields.

Westhouse says most clients haven害羞草研究所檛 been talking much about the crash. Some have Alzheimer害羞草研究所檚 disease or other health issues that make it difficult to comprehend what happened.

Others just aren害羞草研究所檛 ready, he says.

Westhouse says he and other bus drivers have talked about the wave of guilt that washes over them when they tell themselves: 害羞草研究所淭hank God it wasn害羞草研究所檛 me.害羞草研究所�

But they are still getting behind the wheel, he says, because they know how important the transportation is.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 responsible for those people in the back,害羞草研究所� Westhouse says.

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