Investigations underway for B.C. bus crashes

Many questions remain, not just about the devastating Christmas Eve bus crash, but a similar crash just days earlier.

The Christmas Eve bus crash that killed four people and a similar crash just days earlier are both under investigation according to B.C. Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming.

Fleming says one investigation is being conducted by Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, while the other is in the hands of the RCMP.

“The RCMP will be doing a thorough investigation as well as to all the factors that may have contributed. There are a lot of questions that people want answers to, myself included. We don’t have those answers today, we must let the investigators do their work,” Fleming explained.

When those reports are back, Fleming says the information will be shared.

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Fleming noted several times during a Dec. 27 news conference that the province warned people not to drive through the winter storm’s weather conditions if they could avoid it. Although, Fleming assures that he wasn’t suggesting the bus shouldn’t have been on the road.

Majority of passengers weren’t wearing seatbelts, RCMP says

B.C. RCMP is still investigating the crash. In an update on Tuesday, Mounties say passengers on the bus were a “mix of local, non-local and foreign nationals.”

“The road conditions were fluid, transitioning from clear wet roads to frozen with ice and snow on the road surface due to the time of day (sun setting) and changing weather conditions,” the RCMP said in a statement.

Mounties believe there were 46 passengers on the bus when it crashed during a regularly scheduled trip from Kelowna to Vancouver. The bus is believed to have went off road before crossing the median and flipping onto its side on the opposite side of the highway.

“The E-bus was equipped with seat belts, unfortunately it appears the majority of passengers were not wearing them,” RCMP said.

Police say passersby and nearby residents helped the passengers warm up after the crash while waiting for emergency crews to arrive.

As Mounties investigate, they will keep the Ebus vehicle in its custody but says they are working to return luggage and other belongings to the passengers.

The RCMP is still investigating the matter, asking anyone with additional information to contact Cpl. S. Audley via email at: Samantha.audley@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.