Bus carrying hockey team overturns

One player suffered broken arm

QUEENSVILLE, N.S. — A bus carrying an Annapolis Valley team of bantam hockey players ended up on its side after leaving the Trans-Canada Highway about 20 kilometres east of the Canso Causeway.

The incident, which happened in the Queensville area around 2 p.m. on Saturday, resulted in just one relatively minor injury.

“There was only one injury among all the people on the bus — one of the kids broke his arm and went to the hospital to be treated,” said RCMP Const. Chad Morrison. “Everybody else made out without any injury.”

He said the accident remains under investigation.

The bus was carrying the Kings Mutual Valley Wildcats of the Nova Scotia Major Bantam Hockey League. It is believed there were about 19 players and coaches aboard the vehicle. Bantam-aged players are 13 and 14 years old.

The Wildcats were on their way from Berwick to North Sydney where they had been scheduled to play the Joneljim Cougars at the Emera Centre North Sydney on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and again on Sunday at 11:15 a.m.

Both games will be rescheduled.

Nova Scotia Major Bantam Hockey League president Todd Watson confirmed a number of parents following the bus in their own vehicles were on the scene almost immediately. He said the passengers were all taken to Port Hawkesbury.

Watson acknowledged that the accident is still under investigation, but said he heard that a strong gust of wind may have been responsible for pushing the bus off the highway.

“It’s my understanding that the road was clear both before and after the incident and that it may have been the wind that caused it,” he said.

“We’re waiting for the investigators to sort it all out — at the end of the day, everything we do, all of our decisions, are based on safety first. It’s our No. 1 priority.”

Watson said the league even allocates three “off weekends” per season when teams can make up games postponed because of weather and poor travel conditions.

The league has 12 teams located across the province from Liverpool to North Sydney.

CONTRIBUTED A bus carrying an Annapolis Valley team of bantam hockey players ended up on its side after it left the Trans-Canada Highway about 20 kilometres east of the Canso Causeway at about 2 p.m. on Saturday.