Three passengers killed in Calgary bus crash as police investigate cause
A chain-reaction collision involving two city buses left three passengers dead and 16 people injured in northeast Calgary. Police have not determined what caused it.
Three passengers died and 16 people were injured after a chain-reaction crash involving two Calgary Transit buses and other vehicles in northeast Calgary on October 15. Police were investigating the cause on October 16, after the second bus caught fire at the scene on Saddletowne Circle N.E.
The collision happened shortly after 1 p.m. in the 800 block of Saddletowne Circle N.E. Global News reported that the three people killed were passengers on the second bus. The injured included a police officer who responded to the crash, according to Global News and UPI.
How the Calgary bus collision unfolded
According to the sequence reported by Global News, the first bus struck a truck, which side-swiped an SUV and hit the back of a box truck. The bus then struck a sedan, pushing it through the intersection into another truck, before hitting the rear of the second city bus. Police were still working to establish what set the chain of collisions in motion.
The second bus ran on compressed natural gas and caught fire. Global News reported that police said its gas tanks ignited during the collision. That describes what happened during the crash, while the cause of the initial collision remained under investigation. Police had not determined whether impairment, speed or distraction contributed, Global News reported.
Injuries and the rescue from the burning bus
UPI reported that 10 injured people were taken to hospital, including one in critical condition; the other nine had injuries described as not life-threatening. It said five more people, described by authorities as walking wounded, were cleared at the scene and taken to hospital for further assessment. The reported total of 16 injured also included the responding officer.
The driver of the second bus escaped, while the driver of the first bus was trapped and had to be extricated, according to Global News. Police said that driver was taken to hospital with life-altering injuries. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said a police officer ran into a burning bus to save a child, Global News reported.
Calgary Transit operates nearly 250 compressed natural gas buses, about one-fifth of its fleet, according to figures on its website cited by Global News. The number puts the type of bus involved in the fire in context as police investigate; it does not establish what caused the collision.
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Sources and context
- Cause of fiery Calgary bus crash that killed 3 passengers, injured 16 under investigationGlobal News
- 3 dead, 16 injured in fiery bus crash in Calgary, CanadaUnited Press International (UPI)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.