Abbotsford crash: Serious collision involving small bus sends multiple people to hospital
More than a dozen people had to be treated by paramedics after a serious multi-vehicle crash involving a small bus carrying farm workers in Abbotsford Tuesday morning.
BC Emergency Health Services said an air ambulance, along with six ground ambulances, responded to the crash in the 32000 block of MacLure Road.
Sixteen patients were treated and five sent to hospital, including three who were in critical condition.
“It was scary. It was scary and terrifying,” said Mandeep Singh, who lives nearby and went to the scene after hearing the crash.
Video from the scene shortly after the accident shows the front end of a mangled red truck, a shattered windshield and damaged front end of a shuttle bus, as well as another damaged vehicle.
Witnesses tell CTV News Vancouver they heard tires screeching and that the crash sounded like a bomb going off.
Stephen Appleton lives nearby and rushed barefoot to the scene.
“My heart almost fell out of my chest when I saw the bus, two other vehicles, a bunch of people scrambling,” he says.
Appleton, who knows first aid, says he first went to the bus.
“The driver was trapped, had both his legs pinned between the seat and the dash and the steering wheel,” Appleton explained.
He says after doing what he could for the bus driver, he moved to the truck where an unconscious driver was also trapped.
“I couldn’t free him. The only thing I could do is lean him back. I did a rapid body check,” he says.
Singh says firefighters were needed to free the trapped drivers.
“Firefighters did their job well. They cut the vehicle and took the people out of the vehicle,” Singh explained.
A spokesperson for the company that owns the shuttle bus says there were nine farm workers on board at the time of the accident. Manjit Gill says the workers were headed to a nursery.
Casandra Appleton also heard the crash and ran to the scene, carrying her baby.
“It took a while for police even to get here,” she said.
Appleton says she tried to comfort some of those involved in the accident.
“I did try and help some of the women to get them to calm down and settle down,” she said.
The road was blocked off for hours as police investigated.
Neighbours say there are far too many accidents on McClure Road and that too many drivers speed there.
Police say they are still trying to piece together what led to the accident Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.