When 16-year-old Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk glanced down at her phone while driving near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in August 2018, she could never have imagined how that brief moment would alter countless lives. Her car was struck by a train, and six days later — one day after her 17th birthday — her family said goodbye.
That single act of distraction, her mother Sandra LaRose says, didn’t just end one young life — it shattered many others.
“When I found out the cause of Kailynn’s collision, and realized it never should have happened, it actually infuriated me,” LaRose said. “A simple glance away took everything from Kailynn, took everything from me, my family, and her friends.”
Kailynn’s story is now at the heart of Manitoba Public Insurance’s Friends For Life speaker series — a two-week program that brings survivors of impaired, speeding, and distracted driving crashes to schools across the province.
This year’s tour, running through early November, includes 20 schools in communities such as Teulon, Arborg, Hamiota, Carberry, Powerview, Erickson and Winnipeg. LaRose shares her story alongside fellow speakers Jon Tiessen and Rosalie Finch, whose lives were also forever changed by a preventable crash.
MPI’s goal is to reach youth at the stage when they are just beginning to drive — the time they are most at risk for collisions.
According to MPI, 49 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in Manitoba in 2024, while 91 people lost their lives on Manitoba roads that same year. The agency says young Manitobans are 2.4 times more likely than other age groups to be involved in a severe collision involving impairment.
“These speakers are taking devastating experiences and using them to advocate for change,” said MPI Vice-President Maria Campos. “Their stories show that every choice behind the wheel has consequences.”
For LaRose, speaking publicly was never part of the plan — until MPI reached out in 2019.
“When Kailynn was being taken off life support to see if she could donate her organs — which she did — I made her one promise: to make her as proud of me as I was of her,” she said. “I knew early on that I needed to do something. I just had no idea what that would be.”
Since then, LaRose has shared Kailynn’s Story with nearly 30,000 students across Canada — first virtually during the pandemic, and now in auditoriums across the country.
“This will be my fourth year participating in Friends For Life,” she said. “I have to give MPI credit for starting me on this journey.”
When LaRose stands in front of a gymnasium full of students, she asks them to see themselves in Kailynn — to picture their own friends, families and futures.
“My hope is that students realize they are not invincible,” she said. “I want them to see their mom or dad in me, and themselves in Kailynn. One wrong choice can take away everything.”
But her message reaches beyond teenagers. LaRose believes distracted driving is a challenge for all ages — a symptom of a culture that prizes constant connection.
“We’ve become so accustomed to being connected that when we disconnect, we feel lost,” she said. “Fifty years ago, we planned ahead, told people where we were going, and just lived simpler lives.”
She urges parents to model better habits:
“If you pick up your phone to text or change a song, and your kids see you, they’ll think it’s okay. Children learn what they live. And to the students — if you know the right thing to do is stay off your phone, and you see an adult doing it, please point it out. Share Kailynn’s story.”
To honour her daughter’s giving spirit, LaRose created Sharing Kailynn’s Sunshine Foundation Inc. in 2020 — a Saskatchewan-based non-profit that raises funds for causes that reflect Kailynn’s values: compassion, empathy, and kindness.
Through burger-night fundraisers and online auctions held each August near Kailynn’s birthday, the foundation has raised nearly $40,000 for organizations including STARS Air Ambulance, Ronald McDonald House Charities Saskatchewan, Lulu’s Lodge (a home for LGBTQIA2S+ youth), Caring Hearts grief programs, and Teddy Bears Anonymous.
“Kailynn’s soul was always giving,” LaRose said. “Her legacy continues through every act of kindness done in her name.”
More about the foundation can be found on Facebook (Sharing Kailynn’s Sunshine) and Instagram @kailynnssunshine.
Born in Regina on Aug. 21, 2001, Kailynn spent her early childhood in the city before moving to a family farm and attending Fillmore Central School. She was known for her humour, determination and fierce love for her siblings and cousins, who she called her “BFFs.”
She had a soft spot for animals, a strong work ethic, and dreams of becoming a high-school teacher.
“She was funny — hilarious, actually — and loved to make people laugh,” LaRose said. “I know she’s with me every time I stand on a stage. She’s cheering me on.”
For LaRose, grief and love coexist — both rooted in the same deep bond between mother and daughter.
“Kailynn may have died, but she also lived,” she said. “Her story continues to make an impact. Without love there is no grief — and love will always win.”
For more information about the Friends For Life speaker series, visit mpi.mb.ca. To learn more about Sandra’s work, visit www.sandralarose.ca.
