Several people in hospital after car crashes into Moncton transit bus
Several people are in hospital in Moncton after a car ran a stop sign and collided with a Codiac Transpo bus on Thursday afternoon, RCMP said.
Passenger Mike Cormier said the bus was heading down Connaught Street toward the university when a car failed to stop and crashed into the bus.
The bus then pushed the car into another one.
Cormier said he heard a loud bang and people screaming.
"I had no idea what happened," he said. "All of a sudden, we came to a dead stop and there was screaming."
He believed up to 20 people may have been on the bus at the time. About six of them were hurt, he said.
Cormier saw two elderly women being thrown out of their seat, while another woman hit her ribs on a post. He was not injured but was in shock, he said.
"We hit so hard, like, it almost felt ... I don't know how to explain it," he said. "I'll never forget the sound of the impact."
Car missed stop sign, police say
Sgt. Louis Robichaud with Codiac RCMP told CBC News the car was heading north on High Street when it missed the stop sign and crashed into the bus as it headed east on Connaught Avenue.
The third vehicle was heading west on Connaught when it was struck.
Robichaud could not say how many people were taken to hospital or the extent of their injuries. He said the investigation continues.
Codiac Transpo general manager Angela Allain told CBC that it will conduct its own internal investigation in addition to the RCMP's.
She said the bus driver, several passengers and the driver of the car that first hit the bus were taken to hospital, but most injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Allain also said it was a newer bus, and the amount of damage to it has yet to be determined.
Ambulance nearby
Cormier said the impact of the crash took out both windshields on the bus.
After the crash, the bus driver checked on his passengers, he said. One of them called 911, and several ambulances, police cars and fire trucks showed up.
Another ambulance was driving a few cars behind the bus before the crash and the paramedics looked after people right away, he said.
Passengers not injured in the crash were also helping out, he said.
Seconds before the crash, he said the bus driver tried to turn the bus away from the car. Otherwise, "it may have been a lot worse," he said.
"It wasn't the bus driver's fault," said Cormier. "He did everything he could. But the guy came out so fast, there was nothing he could do."
