Weyburn teen dies a week after crash with train

Over the past week, thousands of dollars have been raised for her, doctors have worked to wake her up, and her hospital bed filled with plush cats – but on Wednesday Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk died.

She was the teenage girl whose vehicle was hit by a train on Thursday evening last week near Weyburn.

Bursic-Panchuk was air-lifted to a hospital in Regina that night then later to Saskatoon. Her mother spent the next few days documenting on Facebook the girl’s attempts at recovery.

On social media she described her daughter as a fighter, saying she was sassy and had an unwavering passion for life.

On Saturday she posted a photo of a plush cat on the bed with Bursic-Panchuk, then another the next day. By the next day, there were at least five, with her mother writing “the kitty clan is growing!” below the picture.

The teen seemed to be animal-lover as pictures of her on social media show her cuddling cats and dogs.

All kinds of support flowed in for the family – with many people on social media saying they were sending their prayers and love, and hoping for the best.

On Tuesday Bursic-Panchuk turned 17 years old. Her mother posted several photos to Facebook, wishing the girl a happy birthday and saying “You, my sassy, spunky, brilliant, beautiful girl will get through this and when you do I PROMISE you will have the biggest birthday party imaginable”.

Sadly, on Wednesday, Bursic-Panchuk’s brother posted online that his sister had died. He wrote that she left them “to go to a place where she was no longer suffering”. He also said, if they can, the family will donate her organs, to “(save) and (change) lives like she did with everyone she knew”.

Bursic-Panchuk’s brother said she was the most loving and compassionate girl he’d ever met.

A GoFund Me page was started the day after the crash to raise money to help with the family’s medical expenses. Almost $6,500 was raised by Thursday morning, and an update on the fundraiser said the money would now be used to help the world remember Bursic-Panchuk.

Canadian Pacific Rail has been investigating the crash.