A 35-year-old truck driver has been charged with dangerous driving causing death after a crash at a Brandon intersection on May 27, 2026 that killed a 49-year-old woman, according to a Brandon Police Service news release.
Brijpal Panwar was taken into custody after the northbound semi-truck he was driving failed to stop at a stop sign at Highway 110 and Richmond Avenue East and went through the intersection at highway speeds around 3:20 p.m. The semi hit a westbound SUV driven by the woman, and the force of the crash sent both vehicles into a parked southbound semi-truck.
First responders pronounced the woman dead at the scene. She was a team member at Canada Packers, the pork processing plant just east of the intersection. The company said in a statement that staff are heartbroken. “She was part of our Brandon family and she will be deeply missed.”
Panwar appeared in court on May 28, 2026 and remains in custody. Police are asking anyone with dash camera footage to contact them.
Manitoba Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor said the trucking company involved should not have been on the road in Manitoba. The province pulled its safety fitness certificate in 2021, but the company later got a new one in Alberta. Naylor has been pushing the federal government to create a national database so provinces can share safety records and stop banned companies from operating across borders.
The crash is the second death at this intersection in five years. An October 2021 collision also killed one person. Police say there have been four crashes there already in 2026, and seven in 2025. In late 2024, the province approved a $10.5-million project to put in traffic lights, but supply chain delays and issues with a nearby rail line have slowed the work. The lights are currently covered and not working, with an expected activation by summer 2026.
