Several people have been injured in a serious collision in Ottawa involving an OC Transpo bus at Westboro station.
The single-vehicle collision happened on the westbound Transitway around 3:50 p.m. Friday.
Ottawa police said in a tweet that the crash was “serious.” Paramedics and firefighters are also responding.
Jeff Leiper, the Ottawa city councillor for the area that includes Westboro station, told the CBC’s Matthew Kupfer that at least 12 people had been taken to hospital in serious condition, and at least one more was being treated at the scene.
The Ottawa Hospital said around 5:30 p.m.two people were in critical condition.
A photo from the scene shows first responders aiding an injured person on the pavement in front of the double-decker bus.
The vehicle appeared to have struck the bus shelter, and its front was shorn off. The front seats of the vehicle’s upper deck hung precariously from the gaping hole.
It’s not known how many passengers were aboard the bus, but the crash occurred at the start of afternoon rush hour.
Emergency crews were called to Westboro station in Ottawa following a collision involving a double-decker OC Transpo bus. (@gabesimages/Twitter)
Several people have been injured in a collision involving an OC Transpo bus at Westboro station, police say. (@SaveOurSenators/Twitter)
‘Lineup of stretchers’
Emergency crews were cutting seats and windows out of the front of the bus, likely to get at passengers, said Gabe Rivett-Carnac.
“Everyone was certainly moving fairly quickly,” said Rivett-Carnac, who arrived at the station about half an hour after the crash.
“Just judging by the lineup of stretchers … I would say they were certainly acting with some urgency.”
He said he saw at least 30 emergency vehicles at the station.
‘Lots of people injured here’
On Broadcastify, an online service that provides access to emergency dispatch calls, a dispatcher can be heard saying: “I’m getting a double-decker that rammed into the bus terminal. There’s possibly people that are trapped in the bus. Multiple injuries.”
A short time later, a first responder reports from the scene: “Just on the second floor of the double-decker bus. There’s lots of people injured here.”
He later reports: “We’re on the side of the OC Transpo bus with a ladder trying to get people off of the second floor. … I don’t know how many ambulances we have on the way, but we’re going to need quite a few.”
Ottawa Fire Services spokesperson Danielle Cardinal said fire crews were on scene and that drivers should avoid the area.
As of 4:50 p.m., the Transitway was closed in both directions between Westboro station and Tunney’s Pasture station.
OC Transpo said that buses are being detoured.
from Update Trend News http://bit.ly/2spfCBY
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