Calgary children in hospital after school bus crash
Last Updated: Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 7:40 PM MT
CBC News
The crash sent the school bus into a large spruce tree at the side of a home while the minivan landed upside down in the driveway. (Erin Collins/CBC) Dozens of Calgary children were sent to hospital Thursday with minor injuries after a collision between a school bus and a minivan.
The crash occurred at about 8:15 a.m. at 7904 Ninth Street N.W. Both vehicles were headed east on 78th Avenue and collided when the minivan driver tried to turn left onto Ninth Street, police said, giving no other details.
A minivan landed upside down in a residential driveway after colliding with a school bus on Thursday. (Peter Akman/CBC) The collision sent the school bus into a large spruce tree at the side of a home, while the minivan landed upside down in the same home's driveway.
Homeowner Marilyn Gunn was on the phone when she saw the crash through a window.
"When I looked at it and saw all of the kids inside of it. It was just horrendous," she said. "It was a horrible morning."
Neighbours help out
Bill Russnak, who lives across the street, said he and his nephew ran to help after hearing the crash and calling 911.
"All the kids are screaming and hollering. So I got them to move back," Russnak said. "We had to get a crowbar to get the door open. I had one handy, luckily. And then we got all the children out and onto the lawn and started covering them up with blankets."
Some of the children were taken to hospital by ambulance, while others went on a transit bus. (CBC) Nicole and Tim Clark, who had a daughter on the bus, later thanked Russnak and his nephew for their help.
"If it hadn't been for you guys getting blankets and stuff on our kids, they would have had a lot more shocked kids," Nicole Clark told the pair.
All 34 children on board were taken to the Alberta Children's Hospital with minor injuries and released. The female drivers of the bus and the minivan were taken to the Foothills Hospital, also with minor injuries.
The students attend Balmoral School, which has Grades 5 to 8, and King George School, which has students from kindergarten to Grade 6. Both schools are in the northwest and part of the Calgary Board of Education's public school system.
Bhavna Raval arrived at the hospital after her 12-year-old son called her in tears. The children are in shock, she said.
"I am just waiting to see him safe," she said. "He said he was OK. He just bumped his head. His head was hurting."
Police are investigating.
