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School bus with 38 students pulled over with wheels coming loose

A school bus carrying 38 elementary school students has been pulled from service after drivers on the Don Valley Parkway noticed its rear wheels coming dangerously loose Wednesday.

At about 12:30 p.m., police began to receive 911 calls from drivers who reported a school bus heading north near Don Mills Road with wheels that appeared to be loose.

As police were responding to those calls, a driver on the DVP managed to alert the bus driver, who pulled over near Eglinton Avenue East.

The bus was carrying Grade 1 and Grade 2 students from St. John the Evangelist, a Catholic school in Whitby. The students were heading home from a field trip at Roy Thomson Hall.

'Obviously it's a concern'

Const. Clint Stibbe, of the Toronto Police Traffic Services unit, said one set of the bus's dual rear wheels appeared to be "coming loose" when it was pulled over.

"Obviously it's a concern to the parents of the children should anything have happened," said Stibbe. "It could have been a lot worse."

A police commercial vehicle inspection team arrived at the scene and determined the bus should be taken out of service. A second bus was sent to the scene to take the students back to school

The bus's licence plate was seized and it was towed away.

The bus is operated by Durhamways, a company contracted by Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) for the region's public and Catholic school boards.

Stibbe said the bus will undergo an inspection to determine why the lug nuts came loose.

Kelly Mechoulan of DSTS said the bus had a full inspection on April 3.

"This is the first time we've ever dealt with something like this," he said.

Mechoulan said a letter is being sent home to families of the students to tell them what happened.