(UPDATE: Jan. 12, 2019 @ 7 a.m.) - The Ottawa Police Service (UEC) Crash Investigation Unit is continuing its investigation into the collision yesterday, which left 23 people injured and three dead.
The investigators worked all night to identify with certainty the three victims and to make contact with their families and loved ones. Police said this morning that no information regarding the identities of the three victims will be made public at this time.
The driver of OC Transpo's double-decker bus was released unconditionally pending further investigation.
The UEC will continue its work this morning at Westboro Station, collecting data on site. Road closures will remain in place, and people are urged to avoid the area.
(Original Story: Jan. 11, 2019)
Several people are dead after an accident involving a double-decker bus in Ottawa this afternoon.
Ottawa Police say that the accident took place at 3:50 p.m. at Westboro Station. The bus struck a transit shelter, resulting in 17 people injured. Police say they were taken to local hospitals.
“As a result of the collision we have a number of injuries and some fatalities,” Chief Charles Bordeleau said at the scene, a major bus station west of downtown. He said he didn’t yet have precise numbers.
Photos posted on Twitter showed extensive damage to the front of the bus, with the roof of a shelter well into the vehicle’s second deck.
— Karina (@KarinaWieser) January 11, 2019
Police responding to a serious bus collision at 3:50pm at the Westboro Station, several persons injured.
— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) January 11, 2019
No further details available at this time. #otttraffic
Westboro: Confirming 17 patients injured in the collision. Some in critical condition. Further updates to follow. #Ottnews.
— Ottawa Paramedic Svc (@OttawaParamedic) January 11, 2019
The Ottawa Hospital’s trauma centre said it had received nine patients “in critical condition” from the collision.
The Ottawa Police Service Crash Investigation Unit is also on site and will look into this incident.
-With files from The Canadian Press
