17 January 2009
City Bus, CP Train Collide
Sudbury bus and train of ore
cars.
Sudbury Ontario - A passenger on the Greater Sudbury bus
that collided with a train Thursday morning said the driver did everything he could to prevent the accident.
Jason Bushie, who drove a Sudbury Transit bus for six months last year, said the driver hit a patch of black ice as he was approaching
the railway crossing and couldn't stop in time.
The driver suffered minor head injuries after the collision with the Canadian Pacific Rail train, which occurred about 10:10 a.m. in
the area of Beatty Street and McNeil Boulevard.
The transit driver was taken to St. Joseph's Health Centre by ambulance and is reported to be fine, Greater Sudbury Police said.
Bushie, one of four passengers on the bus at the time, was also taken to hospital where he was examined and released after bumping his
head on a pole in the bus as it slid into the train.
Bushie said the driver was driving below the posted speed limit as he neared the rail crossing on Beatty Street.
Bushie saw the flashing lights at the intersection, then saw the train approaching. The driver was able to stop the vehicle just
before the tracks, but it was clipped by the train's engine, which is wider than the cars it was pulling.
He said the driver appeared to try to put the bus in reverse, but couldn't do it in time.
Bushie said the bus moved and was hit a second time by one of the cars carrying a load of slurry. He called the sensation of the
collision "a rock-n-roll ride."
Bushie helped the driver out of his seat, which was covered with shattered glass. The driver apparently suffered a hip injury.
Greater Sudbury Police arrived in about a minute, he said.
A Sudbury Transit supervisor took the other three passengers to the downtown Sudbury Transit terminal to continue on their journey,
said Bushie. Then the supervisor returned to take Bushie to St. Joseph's Health Centre to be examined.
Greater Sudbury Police Const. Bert Lapalme said the bus driver was travelling at a low speed on Beatty Street toward Elm Street when
warning lights along the tracks were activated.
"(The driver) applied the brakes and the bus was just moving forward. He just couldn't stop the bus in time," said Lapalme.
"He ended up stopping the bus just at the track, but it was far enough that the train caught the edge... at the front driver's
side."
Charges will not be laid, said Lapalme.
Bushie said most transit riders don't understand the job of a bus driver, and said drivers don't get the respect they deserve.
A transit bus weighs about 40,000 pounds empty "and it doesn't just stop on a dime," he said.
"He did everything in his power to stop that bus," said Bushie. "There was nothing he could have done short of throwing
out an anchor."
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