Bus was taking students to Sturgeon Heights Collegiate, according to school division
A crash between a school bus and a semi-trailer truck has halted traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg, but no one was injured, police say.
The bus was taking students to Sturgeon Heights Collegiate when the crash happened around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, the St. James-Assiniboia School Division said in a statement released in the afternoon.
There were six students and a driver on the bus, but no one in either the bus or the semi was injured, RCMP said.
The driver and students were, however, shaken up by the incident, the school division said, noting it is providing counselling and any other supports the students and their families might need.
The bus was headed south on Highway 334 and tried to stop at a red light at Highway 1 in Headingley, but icy conditions caused it to slide into the intersection, RCMP said.
A westbound semi-trailer truck jackknifed in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the bus.
The jackknifed semi blocked westbound traffic on Highway 1 for several hours, causing gridlock in those lanes that backed up traffic to the Perimeter Highway in Winnipeg.
Michele Rybuck was stuck in the traffic around 8:30 a.m. when she described the scene to CBC News, saying “there are a ton of emergency vehicles,” including RCMP, firefighters and ambulances.
STARS air ambulance was also at the scene but lifted off without any patients shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Staff from Bright Beginnings Educare in Headingley provided temporary shelter to the students who were on the bus until alternate transportation to school or home was found, the St. James-Assiniboia School Division said.
“Our hearts go out to the students and drivers impacted by this collision,” the division’s statement said. “We want to express deep appreciation to the staff of Bright Beginnings daycare.”