Leigh Whiting nearly rode that bus. The 52-year-old from Georgetown, Ont., had booked a private van from Punta Cana International Airport instead of a shuttle with extra stops at other resorts. The next day she learned the shuttle had crashed. “We still can’t believe that was the bus we were supposed to be on,” she told The Canadian Press from Boca Chica.
Two Canadian tourists died in the crash on Sunday evening, March 1, 2026. Local authorities put the number of injured at 13, aged 37 to 72. Local media in the Dominican Republic reported 19 injured. The country’s National Health Service said eight of the injured are men and five are women, and two were taken to a specialized trauma hospital.
What happened on the road
The bus was carrying tourists from the Punta Cana airport to hotels, one headed for the coastal town of Juan Dolio. Authorities said it slid across a road in the tourist area of La Romana. Global Affairs Canada placed the wreck near Cumayasa, about 100 kilometres west of Punta Cana.
Sunwing Vacations, a WestJet subsidiary, said the bus was run by a contracted provider working for its third-party partner NexusTours. Two Sunwing customers were aboard. “Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those affected during this incredibly difficult time,” the company said.
A grandmother remembered
CBC News identified one of the dead as Colleen Fullerton, 67, of Lockport, Man. RCMP officers told her granddaughter, Brittany Fullerton, of the death, and the family received official notice on Monday. The couple had left Winnipeg that Sunday morning for a two-week holiday.
Colleen’s husband, John, 70, was hurt and still in hospital. His family had not managed to speak with him. “He’s lost his wife,” Brittany Fullerton said. “He’s in a foreign place. He’s experiencing grief and loss and we can’t even be with him.”
She described her grandmother as “fearless,” a traveller who had recently been to Scotland to learn about her family heritage. Colleen had a reply for every worry: “You can’t live your life in fear.” Bringing her body home to Manitoba could take several weeks.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand offered “deepest condolences” on social media and said Global Affairs Canada staff were in touch with local authorities. The Canadian embassy said it was giving consular assistance but did not say how many Canadians were aboard.
Travellers who skipped it
Christine Earle, of Oro-Medonte, Ont., said she too was meant to be on the bus and chose a private transfer. “I actually get chills thinking about it,” she told CBC. She described cars whipping past her vehicle with little room to spare and few guardrails on the roadsides, and called road safety “questionable.” Whiting also noticed holes in guardrails and described her own airport drive as “a bit crazy and a bit nerve-racking.”
Both groups have dropped far-off excursions. The World Health Organization counts the Dominican Republic among the countries with the world’s highest traffic fatality rates.
Sources
- Sunwing says 'hearts are with families' affected by bus crash in Dominican
- Manitoba woman killed in Dominican Republic bus crash remembered as 'fearless' adventurer | CBC News
- Two Canadians killed in bus crash carrying Sunwing guests in Dominican Republic
