Investigation into bus crash expected by end of week

Answers are expected by the end of the week as to why a St. Albert bus crashed through two backyards Tuesday night.

The Route A2 bus was travelling on Heritage Drive near Haviland Crescent when it drove off the road and collided with a residential fence and a shed around 6 p.m.

The bus continued through that home's backyard pushing an empty trampoline in front of it and broke through another fence. It then collided with the back deck of a second house and came to a stop.

No one was in the first house at the time of the collision. Two adults and two children were in the second home but did not suffer any physical injuries.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital. He was discharged Wednesday morning. No passengers were on the bus, although it was in service at the time.

The bus was driven to a garage from the scene of the collision.

“We felt it was safe to drive … but we’re not going to pre-judge any investigation results,” says Bob McDonald, director of St. Albert Transit. 

 The cause of the crash is under investigation.

As of Wednesday morning, the bus is undergoing an inspection by St. Albert Transit under the observation of a third party from the City of Edmonton’s mobile equipment services branch. The RCMP is conducting a separate investigation.

“We’re expecting to have our investigation completed this week,” says McDonald, explaining that information from the city’s investigation will be shared with RCMP.

Initial findings of the investigation show that the bus was travelling within the 50 km/h speed limit, he says.

“We regret the damage caused to the residents’ yards and are thankful nobody was injured. We believe this was an isolated incident and are conducting a thorough investigation to determine what caused this accident,” says Glenn Tompolski, general manager of St. Albert Transit, in a press release.

Cost of damage has not been determined and will likely be covered by the city’s liability insurance, says McDonald.

Under the provincial commercial vehicle inspection program, inspections into all safety equipment – including brakes, suspension and steering - are required every six months. Vehicles in the St. Albert Transit fleet are inspected every 3,000 kilometres, or about every month, says McDonald.

This story will be updated as information becomes available.