The biggest struggle for Prince George Social Worker Brent Goerz when thinking of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy is not the players, coaches, trainers, or families affected.
“They’re going to be well taken care of, they have a village, they have a community, their community now is Canada-wide and larger,” he explains, before moving on to who his heart is sobbing for.
“My biggest fear, or concern, or where my heart breaks, is for that truck driver. What do we do for him?”
Goerz notes the individuals on the other side of the wheel when a death occurs are vulnerable. He says there is no support for the people who have the weight of the deaths on their shoulders for the rest of their life.
“Because of the incredible media attention, [drivers on the other side] have no one to turn to who doesn’t already have a perspective or an interpretation of what happened. ‘You were behind the wheel of that accident’, that breaks my heart.”
The Humboldt bus crash killed 16 people. A GoFundMe to help the families affected garnered international support, raising $15,184,000.