School Bus Accident on Crowchild - Update

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Claeren

Just to clarify some questions here,

- The Dumptruck was parked at the side of road.
- It was properly parked and fully on to the shoulder of the road.
- The bus clipped the parked dump truck, tearing the side of the bus off and then hit a light post in the ditch crumpling the front right side of the bus.

- All EARLY indications are that it was fully the fault of the bus driver and not at all the fault of the truck driver.




Claeren.

Thjat's good to know. If that gravel truck was at fault there'd be a lynching. If he were poking out into the lane or whatever...

[Engine09]

I passed by the accident on my way to work this morning also, from the Northbound lane all I saw was the crumpled front end of the bus and the driver's side. I had no idea of the amount of damage on the other side. I remember thinking it looked bad, but there was a good chance everyone was ok. Very sad to hear the news.

[JackJack]

Terrible to hear...I was on the C-Train getting off at UNI and I was thinking to myself wow...traffic seems to be backed up quite a bit...good thing I didn't drive.

you never think going to school will end up like that...

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Thjat's good to know. If that gravel truck was at fault there'd be a lynching. If he were poking out into the lane or whatever...

Yeah, i agree.

It was hard to figure out how the accident happened because the damage was on the right side of the bus but the vehicles were parked on the far right of the road and, in the dumptrucks case, very neatly parked as well.

It looked like an accident that should have happened on the opposite side of the road. (So that the truck could have approached from that side.) Only when i knew it was parked did it make sense.



Claeren.

[Cube Inmate]

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about responsibility yet. For all we know, the bus might have been cut off by another car and forced into the shoulder at exactly the wrong time. On the other hand, it could have simply been carelessness. There are plenty of possibilities.

Whatever the cause, both the kids' families and the driver are in for a world of mental anguish.

[Resolute 14]

Most reports - including city beat - are stating the bus drifted into the shoulder. Whether or not she actually did anything wrong, that bus driver is in for a life time of pain and grief.

[Canada 02]

not to be paranoid, I haven't had a chance to call my family. Anyone know what school this bus was headed towards? thx

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

not to be paranoid, I haven't had a chance to call my family. Anyone know what school this bus was headed towards? thx

According to CBC

Six students were on the way to The Third Academy, a private special education school, and five attend Mountain View Academy, another private school that shares the same building.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

not to be paranoid, I haven't had a chance to call my family. Anyone know what school this bus was headed towards? thx

The Third Academy

[Cube Inmate]

Journalists are such a farce. From the CBC.ca story:

"The speed limit on the stretch of road where the crash happened is about 70 km/h."

"About" 70 km/h?? Besides the fact that I think the crash happened just past the beginning of the 80 km/h zone, I don't recall ever seeing a speed limit sign saying "Maximum: 70ish." You know, journalists...you don't have to qualify EVERYTHING you report as if it's an unconfirmed rumour. Open your freaking eyes and take a stand.

</rant>

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about responsibility yet. For all we know, the bus might have been cut off by another car and forced into the shoulder at exactly the wrong time. On the other hand, it could have simply been carelessness. There are plenty of possibilities.

Whatever the cause, both the kids' families and the driver are in for a world of mental anguish.

I meant comparatively the fault between the bus and the truck.

Lots of reasons for the bus to have hit the truck.

My personal guess is that glare from that direction at about 8:25 combined with a bit of lazy driving by an inexperienced driver left the bus about 3 inches too far to the right.



Claeren.

[Cube Inmate]

Originally Posted by Claeren

My personal guess is that glare from that direction at about 8:25 combined with a bit of lazy driving by an inexperienced driver left the bus about 3 inches too far to the right.

Claeren.

It was travelling S-SW at the time, so I wouldn't think that glare would be a problem. It looked like it was a little more than 3 inches as well...probably impacted by a foot or more given the amount of damage to the vehicle.

I don't know for sure, but I don't think even an inexperienced bus driver could be that far out of her lane without realizing it. I think that there likely was some other factor at work, whether that was inattention, surrounding traffic, distractions from the kids, or a message on the CB radio. As I said, though, I don't think lighting conditions could have been one of those factors.

I'm not arguing with you or anything...just giving some of my impressions.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

Journalists are such a farce. From the CBC.ca story:

"The speed limit on the stretch of road where the crash happened is about 70 km/h."

"About" 70 km/h?? Besides the fact that I think the crash happened just past the beginning of the 80 km/h zone, I don't recall ever seeing a speed limit sign saying "Maximum: 70ish." You know, journalists...you don't have to qualify EVERYTHING you report as if it's an unconfirmed rumour. Open your freaking eyes and take a stand.

</rant>

I think you're looking too much into it. It's just a general reference to the speed limit, nothing to get upset over about. It's not really the focus of the story.

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

It was travelling S-SW at the time, so I wouldn't think that glare would be a problem. It looked like it was a little more than 3 inches as well...probably impacted by a foot or more given the amount of damage to the vehicle.

I don't know for sure, but I don't think even an inexperienced bus driver could be that far out of her lane without realizing it. I think that there likely was some other factor at work, whether that was inattention, surrounding traffic, distractions from the kids, or a message on the CB radio. As I said, though, I don't think lighting conditions could have been one of those factors.

I'm not arguing with you or anything...just giving some of my impressions.

I don't mean the sun was right in front of her. It was on the lateral horizon though, and it was mildly distracting. I know because it was annoying ME!

And the damage to the front of the bus is from the pole AFTER it swiped the truck, not the truck itself. It hit that pole going 70+ kmph. It may have been more than 3 inches but not much more.

The truck itself looked comparatively untouched.


Claeren.

[burns2002]

I hope this isn;t a result of an untrained bus driver. Remember all the comercials in Aug for bus drivers?

[Trojan97]

I think it'll be interesting to see how experienced this bus driver is. I say that because just the other day going north on Crowchild by McMahon, the school bus infront of me was extremely far over in the right hand lane and was inches away from literally driving on the curb. Then, while turning right, the right side of the bus literally jumped the curb and kept on it's way. Had their been anyone standing on the curb waiting for the light to change, it would have been extremely bad.

I hope this isn't a case of someone not ready to handle a vehicle of that size being thrown out onto the road due prematurely because of the shortage of drivers they are experiencing.

[Cube Inmate]

Originally Posted by Claeren

I don't mean the sun was right in front of her. It was on the lateral horizon though, and it was mildly distracting. I know because it was annoying ME!

And the damage to the front of the bus is from the pole AFTER it swiped the truck, not the truck itself. It may have been more than 3 inches but not much more.

The truck itself looked basically untouched.


Claeren.

I guess we'll find out when the report comes out, regardless of what we think. I know you said you were there, but you were behind the collision and hadn't yet rounded the corner. Your angle into the sun was worse than the bus driver would have experienced.

From the looks of the damage, I suspect the first impact happened near the right headlight, perhaps by only a couple of inches...but got much more severe when the wider "bus" portion reached the truck an instant later. How much wider is the passenger compartment than the drive section on one of these things? About a foot on each side? When that part caught the dump truck, it ripped it like a can-opener.

Anyhow...I'm off to negotiate traffic on my own.

Edit: I shouldn't include my signature on a post like this when I'm just making unfounded guesses. Oh well :P

[Claeren]

Another picture.

Despite the distance the side of the bus travelled along the truck, the door is still attached, the front-quarter panel is still attached and the rear tires still in place and seemingly untouched (Front tire is gone i think but seemingly from jumping the curb and/or the pole more so than the side impact IMO).

Also reports are now that the bus was going at a high rate of speed with little evidence of braking before impact with the pole.




Claeren.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Claeren

Another picture.

Claeren.

Wow, that is horrific looking.

[BlackArcher101]

Keep in mind that usually with accidents like this the end result damage appears to be worse than it actually was. This is usually because rescue cuts open a path to remove the injured.

She hit that pole at a fair rate of speed. Yikes.