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Man, 33, charged in crash that killed mother of three

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/04/26/man-33-charged-in-...

A 33-year-old man has been charged after a mother of three was struck and killed by a vehicle on Abinojii Mikanah last September.

The man was charged April 21 with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and driving while disqualified, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Sunday. He was released on an undertaking.

Police did not release the name of the accused.

Omotayo Samuel-Pepple, 49, was struck on Sept. 16 while waiting at a bus stop when an eastbound vehicle veered off Abinojii Mikanah near St. Mary’s Road. The vehicle hit a guard rail and flipped. The driver remained on scene, police said.

Samuel-Pepple was rushed to hospital in critical condition but died two days later.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy wouldn’t provide details about the exact circumstances of the crash, but said there was evidence of “imprudence” and the accused’s driver’s licence was suspended at the time of the crash.

“It was an avoidable incident,” he said Sunday.

Chancy wouldn’t say whether the suspect is known to police. The crash happened a little over seven months ago but charges were just recently authorized by the Manitoba Prosecution Service.

Samuel-Pepple’s sister told the Free Press last fall the family had been given few details about what caused the collision.

“It’s been frustrating, shocking and sudden,” Mary Oloyede said at the time.

Samuel-Pepple arrived in Winnipeg in January 2025 as an international student and was studying human resource management at the University of Manitoba.

“She was just peaceful, easygoing,” Oloyede said of her older sister.

“Everyone who had an encounter with her would tell you she was a good person. She wasn’t the kind of person to make trouble. She was just a lovely person at heart. I am privileged to have her as a sister… the closest person to me.”

Oloyede declined to speak to the Free Press Sunday.

Samuel-Pepple’s husband and three children, a 21-year-old daughter and two sons aged 17 and 14, all lived in Nigeria at the time of the crash.

Oloyede said her sister worked at one of the YMCA locations in the city and was on her way home when she was struck.

At the time, Coun. Janice Lukes, who chairs the city’s public works committee and sits on the Transit Advisory Board, said the city would review the crash to see if safety improvements are needed at the site.

On Sunday, a city spokesperson said the public service is planning to review the intersection and will forward any new safety recommendations for consideration, but did not provide a timeline on the review.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.camailto:nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca