Driver injured after school bus strikes trailer

A school bus driver sustained serious injuries while students escaped with bumps and bruises when a bus struck a parked tractor-trailer on Kelly’s Mountain Friday morning.

The bus was travelling eastward when at 8:08 a.m. it collided with a trailer that was parked partially in the roadway overnight, RCMP said.

The collision occurred near the crest of Kelly’s Mountain.

The driver had to be extracated from the bus. Lifeflight was called to the scene and transported the driver to hospital in Halifax.

No details about the man’s injuries were immediately available.

Michelle Macleod, spokesperson for the Cape Breton-victoria Regional School Board, said 11 students from the Baddeck area were being transported to Memorial Composite High School in Sydney Mines when the crash occurred.

All of the students were assessed on site by EHS and it was determined that they sustained injuries that were limited to bumps and bruises.

A second bus was sent to the site and students were loaded on it and transported to hospital in Baddeck to be reassessed. Parents of the students involved were all notified by the board.

A crisis team was also sent by the school board to Baddeck Academy and two crisis interven- tion workers were sent to the hospital to meet parents and students as they arrived, Macleod said.

Baddeck RCMP is investigating the cause of the collision, with assistance from an RCMP traffic analyst. The highway remained closed for much of the day because of the crash.

Stephen Rafuse, an owner with Bestway/pro-can Trucking Services based in Dartmouth, confirmed the trailer involved with the crash belonged to his company.