Officials from the school whose student was hit by a bus in Abbotsford earlier this month say the driver of the vehicle has been fired.
In a statement, representatives from Khalsa School Mission - one of five campuses of the Sikh independent school - said the driver was suspended after the accident on Oct. 6, and an internal investigation was launched. The investigation has since been concluded, and the driver’s contract terminated, the school said.
Video of the incident began circulating on social media last week. It appears to show two students getting off of the bus and crossing the street in front of it. The first student runs ahead of the other, who is not clear of the bus’s front end when the driver begins moving forward.
CTV News has learned that the victim is a seven-year-old boy, and that the person seen exiting the bus ahead of him is his sister. The two were being dropped off at home after the end of the school day.
In the video, the bus appears to drive over the student and out of the frame, leaving him lying in the street. Neighbours can then be seen rushing to his aid.
Though the school is located on Stave Lake Road in Mission, the incident took place in Abbotsford. The Abbotsford Police Department is investigating.
The boy is in intensive care at BC Children’s Hospital with lower body injuries, including a pelvis injury and a scrape on his leg that will require plastic surgery, neighbours familiar with the situation told CTV News. They said the recovery is expected to take months.
Neighbours said the bus drove past three or four more houses after hitting the boy, and that other students on the bus saw what happened - including a cousin of the victim.
The school said it would not be releasing the name of the student or of the driver, for privacy reasons.
Members of the school community, including members of the victim’s family, participated in a two-day prayer service that began the day after the accident, according to the school, and the family requests prayers and privacy as their child recovers.
