Bus-semi crash hurts 10 students

Kids attended four schools in the Beaverlodge area

Ten children were taken to hospital after a collision between a school bus and semi-truck near Beaverlodge, RCMP said Wednesday.

Neither driver was injured, but 10 of 12 children aboard the bus Tuesday afternoon were taken to hospitals in Beaverlodge and Grande Prairie for treatment “of a variety of injuries,” including cuts and broken bones.

Sheldon Rowe, superintendent for Peace Wapiti Public School Division, said the children aboard the bus attended four schools: St. Mary Catholic School in Beaverlodge, Beaverlodge Elementary School, Beaverlodge Regional High School and Hythe Regional School. One of the injured passengers was a high school student and the others were elementary and junior high school students, Rowe said.

Some students were released from hospital Tuesday night and some remain in Grande Prairie and Edmonton hospitals. “There are some we continue to be concerned about,” Rowe said.

“Any time something like this happens, your heart drops to your stomach.”

SHELDON ROWE

Cpl. Roy Kennedy, spokesman for Grande Prairie RCMP, said two of his nieces and a nephew were injured in the collision. “They’re pretty sore today. They were banged up and had to receive stitches,” Kennedy said. “It was pretty traumatic for them.”

Rowe said the school division has support in place for all children directly involved in the collision and for the students who know the children.

“Any time something like this happens, your heart drops to your stomach. We continue to do what we can, and we’ll investigate the site and we’ll investigate the incident,” Rowe said.

The collision happened about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Initial reports indicate the bus was eastbound on Township Road 722 when it was struck by a northbound semi on Highway 723.

RCMP continue to investigate.