One dead in Vancouver bus crash
VANCOUVER — A man is dead and two people injured after a crash in Vancouver’s busiest tourist district Sunday morning.
A charter tour bus loaded with passengers hit three people on Canada Place Way, between the Convention Centre and Canada Place.
Three people were transported to hospital, including two people with life-threatening injuries, Vancouver police said.
One of those people, a 49-yearold man, died. A 15-year-old girl suffered minor injuries, while an older man remains in hospital with serious injuries. Police said all three are family members, visiting from Massachusetts.
According to one eyewitness, the bus — a tourist shuttle headed for the Capilano Suspension Bridge — seemed to have just pulled away at low speed from the curb when pedestrians were suddenly on the street, next to a SUV, which was parked a short distance in front of the bus.
The bus driver slammed on the brakes but couldn’t avoid hitting them. A number of bystanders rushed to help the people hit by the bus.
“When I heard the crash, I went in to see,” Mushfiqur Rahman said. At least two people were pinned under the bus; one was unconscious, the other was groaning.
“I saw the face of the [bus] driver, he was in pain,” he said. “Emotional pain.”
The bus slammed into a silver Ford SUV, which had its trunk door open, apparently for the loading of luggage.
Some luggage could be seen on the ground amid the wreckage. One person’s shoe and another person’s sandal was visible next to the wheel of the bus.
The SUV’s raised trunk door was stuck in the front window of the bus on the driver’s side. The window was partly shattered as a result.
Emergency services arrived on scene quickly, Rahman said.
Firefighters and paramedics worked to raise the bus while the driver and passengers remained aboard.
Paramedics and firefighters were seen giving a man CPR before he was rushed to hospital.
Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Jason Robillard the investigation will be quite complex. “Our collision investigation unit will be looking at everything,” he said. “It does take quite some time for the facts to come out in the investigation.”
The bus was a VTC Coach, operated by the Vancouver Trolley Company.
In a statement posted to the company’s Facebook page, general manager Stuart Coventry said “it’s with deep regret we confirm that one of our tourist buses was involved in a tragic accident in Vancouver this morning. We are shocked and saddened and our focus right now is on the people who were injured and the families of those injured and deceased.”
In an emailed statement, an official of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure declined to provide details on the company’s safety record, but said the Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement branch is working with Vancouver police, who are leading the investigation.