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North Bay parents upset after school bus crash

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A Tuesday morning crash involving a North Bay school bus with children on board has several parents rattled and police investigating.

Chuck Seguin of Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation Service told CTV News in a phone interview the company was notified about the crash on Burns Street and Tackaberry Drive around 8:25 a.m.

Emergency crews were called to the scene and no injuries have been reported, Seguin said.

Approximately 20 students were on board at the time of the incident and they are awaiting a report from the bus driver, which could take up to 24 hours, he added.

Vanessa Turcotte told CTV News her heart sank when she saw a post about the collision on social media Tuesday morning not knowing if her daughter was on board at the time.

She told CTV News she didn't receive a call from her daughter's school until 10:06 a.m. letting her know the junior kindergarten student had been assessed at the scene and was not injured.

"Thankfully, the school reassured me that, yes, she was OK and they would contact me if anything changes," Turcotte said.

The worried mom said the transportation company should have called the school as soon as it happened so parents could be notified earlier.

"She has an amazing bus driver that does go above and beyond for the kids and decorates the bus for the birthdays. I don’t blame him one bit for this and he is probably feeling awful that it even happens," Turcotte said.

"It was extremely scary to know that she was on the bus while this happened. People need to be more aware of the buses on the road."

Another mom, Natalie Pouliot, told CTV News she was concerned after seeing a truck passing the same school bus (No. 125) Monday when the bus had its amber lights flashing.

The amber light system is activated when the school bus starts slowing down to alert other drivers of an impending stop. Once stopped and red lights are activated, it is against the law to pass a school bus.

Stock Transportation in North Bay told CTV News it has recorded 36 incidents of vehicles not stopping for school buses in the last 16 days, a concerning trend.

North Bay police would not provide any details about the crash Tuesday morning.

No word on the cause of the crash or if any charges are pending. 

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