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
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Dutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before tension-plagued song contest final
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
Protest encampment cleared by Edmonton police early Saturday morning
A protest encampment set up on the University of Alberta campus was cleared early Saturday morning by Edmonton police.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.