A longtime friend of a mother and father killed in a highway accident near Steinbach, Man. on Saturday said the couple’s close-knit family has come together to help their 11 children through the tragedy.

David Dik, 38, and his wife Elisabeth, 35, were killed as a result of a head-on crash Saturday when their Honda Civic collided with a sport utility vehicle on Highway 52 east of Steinbach. The couple and their 11 kids — ranging in age from 14 months to 16 years — lived on a hobby farm near Mitchell just west of Steinbach in the Rural Municipality of Hanover.

“It is a big shock for us,” said Irina Spomer, a friend of the couple for 20 years.

Spomer and her husband Paul were friends with David and Elisabeth when they all lived in the Orenburg region of southwestern Russia before immigrating to Canada about eight years ago.

David was employed at a chicken farm west of Steinbach, while Elisabeth was a stay-at-home mom.

Spomer said the couple has many family members in the area — including brothers and sisters, and David’s mother — who will look after the couple’s children. David’s brother Nikola Dik and his wife Katerina, who have 12 children of their own, will be involved in raising the orphaned kids.

“The hardest part is the children,” Spomer said. “We are praying lots for them and they are grieving very much. We hope they will stay together with family. They are a very close family and we hope that everything will work out.”

Spomer said Elisabeth was expecting the family’s 12th child and was about seven months pregnant when the accident happened.

“They are crying a lot and it’s been very, very hard for them,” Spomer said of the couple’s kids.

Spomer said a memorial service is planned Friday for the couple at the church they regularly attended in Mitchell.

She said the pair lived for their kids and their small hobby farm, where they kept chickens and a small number of livestock.

“It’s unbelievable with 11 kids, but the kids were very well-behaved and they were a very organized family,” Spomer said. “The oldest child was already babysitting the youngest. It was very good.”

A trust fund is being set up at Steinbach Credit Union for the orphaned children.

RCMP said the cause of the collision is believed to have been poor road conditions. Speed and alcohol were not factors, they said on the weekend. Neither person killed was wearing a seatbelt.

jason.halstead@sunmedia.ca