On the one-year anniversary of a fatal bus crash near Bamfield, the mother of one of the two University of Victoria students who died says she still has difficulty grasping the fact that her daughter is gone.
鈥淪ometimes I think I know she died and on some level I don鈥檛 accept that completely; I don鈥檛 think I can and carry on,鈥� said Ethel MacIntosh, said by phone from Winnipeg.
鈥淪ometimes I think there鈥檚 a parallel universe where something different happened or her spirit is here.
鈥淚 think those are ways to cope with this kind of thing.鈥�
MacIntosh鈥檚 18-year-old daughter, Emma MacIntosh Machado, was one of two first-year students who died when a bus carrying 45 students and two teaching assistants tipped and crashed on a biology field trip to Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. John Geerdes, 18, from Iowa City, Iowa, was also killed in the crash on the Bamfield Main, a 76-kilometre logging road that connects Port Alberni and Bamfield Road. Many other students were injured.
Flags at the University of Victoria were lowered on Friday and will remain at half-mast until Monday in honour of the victims.
鈥淭his devastating accident shook the entire UVic community and we are profoundly sorry for the grief and distress caused by the accident,鈥� said Jamie Cassels, president and vice-chancellor of UVic, in a statement. 鈥淲e are holding Emma and John and all the students and their families in our thoughts, as the UVic community remembers and reflects on the tragic events of Sept. 13, 2019.鈥�
An RCMP report said the bus pulled to one side to avoid an approaching Jeep, then slid down an embankment and tipped onto its roof.
The next day, when police came to the Machado family home to say that Emma had died, father Jose Machado collapsed. MacIntosh says she functioned through shock.
Emma, born in Winnipeg on Feb 9, 2001, was intelligent, strong-willed, funny and compassionate, say her parents. She volunteered, worked as a camp counsellor and helped kindergarten teachers in her spare time. She sang and played guitar and drums. She had her pick of universities, but couldn鈥檛 see herself as anything but 鈥渁n Island student.鈥�
On Sept. 1, 2019, her parents helped Emma move into her UVic dorm. On Sept. 2 they returned with a few more items. Emma ran off to join her new friends. She barely turned as her mother yelled 鈥淚 love you鈥� and she didn鈥檛 return for a goodbye embrace with her father, Jose, who had retired early to be home with Emma and her sister.
鈥淪ept. 2 was a big day for us because that鈥檚 when we last saw her,鈥� said MacIntosh. The last text from Emma was Sept. 11.
鈥淭here鈥檚 more important dates, in some ways, than the date of the accident,鈥� said MacIntosh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a date that鈥檚 hard for us and we don鈥檛 necessarily want to recognize it.鈥�
She said the couple takes comfort in knowing how excited and happy Emma was in the two weeks before the crash. 鈥淲e know she wouldn鈥檛 have wanted to be anywhere else. She was happy. We were all happy and our lives in many ways leading up to that were ideal.鈥�
John Geerdes was born in Iowa City on April 14, 2001, one of five siblings, along with Jonas, James, Katherine and Jude. An avid reader, he participated in student senate, played varsity soccer, ran cross country, swam, bowled and paddleboarded. He worked as a lifeguard and soccer referee.
His mother describes him as a 鈥渂ig guy with an even larger heart and easy grin who loved people, and people in turn loved him. 鈥� John was kind, had an orderly room and mind, and a unique ability to prioritize what is important in life.鈥�
His family remains heartbroken, mother Mary Murphy said. The family plans to celebrate John together today and place flowers on his grave.
鈥淛ohn remains constantly in our hearts,鈥� said Murphy. 鈥淎s parents of college students, our hearts go out to the students who were on the bus and hope they are able to heal and have peace.鈥�
The university commissioned a report into the crash by Ross Cloutier of Kamloops-based Bhudak Consultants Ltd., an expert in outdoor-related risk management. The report, released in June, didn鈥檛 lay blame but pointed to problems and made 43 recommendations.
It cited contributing factors that included a late departure from Victoria that meant the bus was travelling in the dark, a lack of enforcement of wearing of seatbelts, inadequate communication devices for travel on Bamfield Main and lack of a two-way satellite phone.
The university has since changed its field-trip policies so students will only be transported during daylight, seatbelt use is required and on-board staff enforce all rules. A satellite communications device and first aid equipment must be on board.
UVic, which continues to offer counselling to students affected by the crash, said three recommendations have been implemented, 20 are in progress, 20 are in planning stages.
Improvements to the road were announced by the province on Friday.
UVic announced has announced two scholarships in the Faculty of Science department of biology in memory of Emma and John.
The university plans to designate a spot in Finnerty Gardens, on the edge of campus, as a place of remembrance and reflection for the students.
鈥淭he families of John and Emma had asked that the students who were on the bus guide the discussions and decisions in a meaningful way to remember their classmates,鈥� said the university.
A memorial bench with plaques memorializing John and Emma is expected to be installed in the gardens.