Mother, 8-year-old daughter killed after vehicle hit by semi west of Altona: Manitoba RCMP

A 35-year-old woman and hereight-year-old daughter are dead after their vehicle was hit by a semi thatfailed to stop at a southern Manitoba highway intersection, RCMP say.

The two-vehicle collisionhappened around 7 p.m. on Friday, at the intersection ofProvincial Road 201 and Provincial Road 306, about 13 kilometres west of the town of Altona, RCMP said in a Saturday news release.

Their investigation has determined that a semi-trailer travelling eastbound on PR 201 failed to stop at the intersection. Ithit a southbound SUVdriven by the 35-year-old woman, who is from the rural municipality of Rhineland, which surrounds Altona, about 90 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her eight-year-old daughter, who was a passenger in the SUV, was taken to hospital, where she died from her injuries.

"It's brutal. It's absolutely ridiculous. This is extremelytragic. A husband's lost a wife, a daughter.I can't imagine," said the Manitoba RCMP's Sgt. Paul Manaigre.

Manaigre said a witness to the crash who had been travelling behind the SUVtold RCMP she slowed down because she saw the semiapproaching the intersection at highspeed.

"She started to slow down and the SUV in front of her kept going," he said.

Aspokesperson for STARS,anambulance service for rural and remote communities in the prairies, said first-responderswere dispatched to the scene of the crash andtransported one person in critical condition to Winnipeg'sHealth Sciences Centre. RCMP said they transported the 8-year-old daughter.

Meanwhile police said the driver of the semi, a25-year-old manfrom Brampton, Ont., was taken to hospital, where he was treated for injuries and released.

RCMP are still investigating, but say charges are expected.