11 taken to hospital after school bus crashes into Burnaby, B.C., home

11 taken to hospital after school bus crashes into house in Burnaby

Eleven people were taken to hospital after a bus transporting high school students crashed into a home in Burnaby, B.C., Thursday morning, according to officials.

BC Emergency Services, in an email, said six ambulances, a supervisor, and a link and referral unit were dispatched to the scene on Canada Way near 16th avenue at 7:55 a.m.

"Paramedics cared for and transported 11 patients to hospital in stable condition," the statement from BCEHS says.

Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Kalanj told CTV News that no serious injuries were reported.

"They were all brought to a local hospital so that we could muster them in one spot and their parents could find them," he said Thursday afternoon.

"I don't believe there's anything broken. It sounded like there's going to be a lot of bumps and bruises which can be painful, of course … I'm going to say maybe we're lucky today because it could have been a lot worse."

Given the time of day and the location of the crash, Kalanj says police believe the kids were on their way to school at the time.

Impairment has been ruled out as a cause of the crash, which involved one other vehicle whose driver was not seriously hurt. Police are working to determine if a mechanical issue, human error or speed played a role, Kalanj continued.

A structural engineer was called in to assess the damage to the house.

"The person that lived in that part of the house was not at home and it's a lucky thing because they potentially could have been injured pretty bad," Kalanj said.

Adrian Striga, who lives in a ground-floor suite at the home, says he has no idea where he is going to live due to the extensive damage to the unit.

"I was upset, angry, emotional," he says, describing the moment he learned what had happened to his apartment.

Still, he is grateful he was at work and not at home when the crash happened.

"That bus is literally on my bedroom now where I rest my head at night," he said, adding that the impact sent a television "bouncing" from the bedroom into his living room.

"I've just got to be thankful that I'm alive … But right now my head's just spinning. I honestly, I don't even know what to say."

Photo submitted by Adrian Striga.

Striga also told CTV News that the sound of brakes screeching and horns honking have become familiar since he moved into the apartment eight months ago. The intersection, he says, is not safe.

"I even cracked a joke to my friend that one day something's going to come into my bedroom," he said.

"And now, a bus came through my bedroom because it's such a bad corner. They need a traffic light there. Enough said."

Police have not yet provided any information about the suspected cause of the crash, but have said there was another car and involved and that driver was uninjured. 

Photo submitted by Adrian Striga.