A coroner involved in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says it wasn鈥檛 until an injured player woke up in hospital and said he wasn鈥檛 who everyone thought he was that officials realized there had been a big mistake in identifying the dead.

Since the crash, Parker Tobin鈥檚 loved ones from Alberta had been at the bedside of the player they thought was Parker, an 18-year-old goalie. He had serious facial injuries, but they believed he was their boy.

It turned out it was actually teammate Xavier Labelle in the bed, a player already listed as among the many dead and being remembered at a public vigil that night.

鈥淴avier woke up and said, 鈥業鈥檓 not Parker Tobin,鈥欌�� Wayne Nogier, a community coroner in Melfort, Sask., recalled this week.

It was a mix-up that compounded an already unthinkable tragedy.

Related:

Nogier, a former paramedic who also sits on the board of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association and has worked as a referee, was the first of two coroners to arrive at the crash site north of Tisdale, Sask., on April 6. He is listed as the coroner on the case file.

The junior hockey team had been on its way to a Friday night playoff game when its bus and a truck collided at a rural intersection.

Fourteen bodies from the wreckage were taken to a Saskatoon funeral home that acted as the morgue over that weekend, said Nogier. Fifteen injured people were taken to hospital and two died in the days that followed.

Photos and information from the team, including the players鈥� heights and weights, were initially used by staff from the coroner鈥檚 office and funeral home to match the bodies with names, said Nogier.

It was a difficult task.

The players had all dyed their hair blond and were growing playoff beards. Most didn鈥檛 have their wallets on them.

An assistant coach helped identify the bodies before the families were brought in, said Nogier. All were able to confirm the matches, except in Labelle鈥檚 case.

鈥淭he family looked and they鈥檙e saying, 鈥極h geez. You know. Maybe. Probably. Umm, I don鈥檛 know. Nobody else is unaccounted for. Maybe.鈥欌��

Nogier said Labelle, an 18-year-old defenceman from Saskatoon, had previously worn braces, so a request was made for his dental records. His orthodontist was planning to head to his office that Sunday night to pull Labelle鈥檚 films.

But before he could send them to the coroner鈥檚 office, the player who was actually Labelle woke up.

By then, his name was listed among the dead on a news release that had been sent out Sunday afternoon from the coroner鈥檚 office and the RCMP. His name was also read aloud at the vigil in Humboldt.

Nogier said he doesn鈥檛 know who made the decision to release the name 鈥� only that he didn鈥檛 sign off on it.

When the mix-up was discovered, the Labelle and Tobin families switched places. Nogier said Tobin鈥檚 family was asked for an identification and was certain it was the 18-year-old goalie.

They were understanding about the mistake, he said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e devastated and beyond words as to what鈥檚 occurring, yet happy for the Labelle family that things have turned out in their case,鈥� Nogier said.

鈥淭hese teams are very close and these kids are all families to all of these parents.鈥�

Labelle鈥檚 family released a photo earlier this month of him at physiotherapy and said they hold no ill will about the error.

Grant Bastedo, a representative of the Broncos and some of the players鈥� families, including the Labelles, said people did their best during an incredibly sad time.

鈥淚t was a mistake that was made. Don鈥檛 know who made it 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 matter. It鈥檚 water under the bridge,鈥� he said.

Related:

Related:

Drew Wilby, a spokesman with Saskatchewan鈥檚 Ministry of Justice, which oversees the coroner鈥檚 office, apologized at the time the mistake was made public. He said the coroner鈥檚 office was doing an internal review of what happened to see if improvements could be made.

RCMP did not respond to a request for comment.

Saskatoon鈥檚 former police chief, Clive Weighill, had been tasked before the crash with reviewing the coroner鈥檚 system in Saskatchewan. He told The Canadian Press in an email that while he isn鈥檛 examining specific cases, Humboldt will be considered as part of his overall findings.

His review is to be done by July.

Nogier said he knew many of the Broncos and their families and hopes the misidentification will provide an opportunity to further examine the coroner鈥檚 system.

He said he doesn鈥檛 believe changes, such as switching to a medical examiner who relies on forensic pathologists, would have made a difference in the Broncos case.

And, despite the error, the families were well served by first responders, police and coroner鈥檚 staff, Nogier said.

People may wonder how such a mistake could happen, he said, but it鈥檚 easy considering there were numerous casualties and many hurdles.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 an opportunity to be better, we should jump all over that, 鈥� Nogier said.

鈥淚f there isn鈥檛, we should be comfortable in the fact that everything that was done did get done and was done appropriately.鈥�

Related:

Chris Purdy, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .