School branch followed protocol notifying parents after Central Bedeque bus crash

P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch says it followed protocol when notifying parents about a crash after a school bus collision in Central Bedeque last week.

The school bus had stopped to drop children off after school when police say it was struck from behind by a pickup truck.

There were 26 children on the bus at the time. None of them was injured.

The Public Schools Branch said when there is an accident, parents are contacted by the school within 24 hours.

"Following an accident, communication with parents is determined by the severity of the accident and the length of time it takes to get the students home," said a spokesperson for the Department of Education in an email to CBC.

"In the case of the accident last week in Bedeque, other buses arrived fairly quickly to take the students home."

It said if the delay was going to be significant, it would have made radio announcements or had the school contact parents directly to advise that students would be late.

No criminal charges

The 67-year-old man driving the pickup was given a $200 fine of driving with undue care and attention, according to RCMP.

Police said the man wasn't paying attention, and struck the bus from behind.

RCMP will not be charging the driver criminally.

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