Brother vows to raise orphaned siblings

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This article was published 23/11/2010 (5104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A young Winnipeg man says he is determined to raise his four younger brothers — two of whom may have serious disabilities — after their parents were killed in a crash on a Saskatchewan highway.

Jordan Dubois, 19, said Tuesday he’s up for the challenge as his brothers recover from the horrific crash. Only three days ago, the boys’ parents, Marcel and Brenda Dubois, both 38, were killed after a car struck their minivan on Highway 16 near Saltcoats, Sask.

“I’m holding up as best I can,” said Dubois, who plans to raise the brothers he called the “strongest group of kids.”

The family, minus Dubois, had travelled west for a taekwondo competition.

He said Tuesday his brothers were “getting better.”

Matthew, 13, is in hospital grappling with brain injuries and a broken pelvis and collarbone. Jarret, 14, was in surgery Tuesday.

“He has pretty bad internal injuries to his organs. He’s probably going to be paralyzed from the waist down,” Dubois said of Jarret.

He is not sure if Jarret has been conscious enough to know what happened to his parents.

Jordan said his brother, Dustin, 9, is “doing good.”

Michael, 16, was also faring well at hospital, with a tear in his spleen that won’t require surgery.

“They’re just trying to lay him down and make sure it’s healed properly,” Dubois said. ‘They don’t want him overexerting himself.”

Dubois said he will not let his brothers be split up. “I’ve lost two great role models,” the tearful young man said Tuesday. “They showed me how to give.”

He said he will figure out a way to cope with any disabilities his brothers have to face.

“You can get around paralyzation and whatever,” he said. “As long as you have your life. I’ll take anything right now.”

The Iron Fist centre where the younger boys studied taekwondo is rallying behind the family and collecting donations that are pouring in.

“(People) are just coming off the street and handing $100, $25 cash,” Coreen Goodchild said. “They didn’t know the family. They just wanted to donate something, to help.”

Donations can also be made at any Scotiabank location in Winnipeg. Cheques should be made out in trust of the Dubois family.

Jordan Dubois also hopes to take over his family’s delivery-service business.

“It’s been going for 25 years,” he said. “My grandpa gave it down to my dad.”

A family member outside the family’s North Kildonan home Tuesday afternoon said they were in the midst of making funeral arrangements for the couple.

The driver of the car involved in the crash, a 17-year-old Yorkton girl, was also killed. The collision occurred when the young driver tried to pass another car on slick roads and in poor visibility, colliding head on with the Dubois’ vehicle.

 

— With files from The Canadian Press

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca