Ottawa bus driver killed in train collision identified as David Woodard

An Ottawa bus driver who died in a collision with a Via Rail train had a clean record before the fatal crash, which left five passengers dead and 30 others injured.

Ottawa police confirmed the identity of the driver as David Woodard, a 45-year-old Ottawa resident, who was later described as an experienced driver with a clean driving record.

The identities of the five other victims have not been officially released.

"The OPS Victim Crisis Unit continues to work with the Office of the Coroner in the identification of victims and notification of next of kin," the Ottawa Police Service said in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families, friends and loved ones."

Woodard was driving a double-decker transit bus between downtown Ottawa and the suburb of Barrhaven shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning when the bus entered a rail intersection and collided with a Toronto-bound Via Rail passenger train.

[ Related: Bus driver Dave Woodard had clean record before fatal crash ]

Eyewitness accounts suggest bus passengers began shouting for the driver to stop moments before impact. The collision forced the front of the train to derail but passengers on board were otherwise unaware of the extent of the carnage.

[ More Brew: Dramatic 911 call, witness accounts paint picture of crash ]

Officials said on Wednesday that the intersection had been previously inspected and deemed safe. There has not been an accident at the site since at least 2002, when official records began being kept.

Woodard, meantime, is being described as a loving husband and careful driver.

Amalgamated Transit Union 279 released a statement sending condolences to the families of the victims and said the union was reeling at the loss of their brother.

A Facebook account attributed to Terry and Dave Woodard, the driver and his widow, posted a message expressing her sadness and calling him her best friend and a great father to one daughter and his step-sons.

A message sent to CTV Ottawa Morning Live from the account asked for sympathy and understanding.

"[P]lease let me tell you that Dave would of stop at the barricades if he knew he would of have time," reads a message posted by the couple's account. "[S]omething had to go wrong...he's an amazing driver...please stop saying bad things about him....he's not a monster."

Officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada return to the crash site on Thursday to continue their investigation.

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