Seven people injured after Fredericton Transit bus ends up in ditch

A Fredericton Transit bus flipped over on Monday.

Seven people are injured after a transit bus left the icy roads in Fredericton late Monday afternoon.

The Fredericton Police Force, Fredericton Fire Department and Ambulance New Brunswick all responded to the collision on Hilton Road shortly after 5 p.m.

Police say the Fredericton Transit bus left the road and flipped onto its side in a ditch.

Police initially said five people had been injured in the crash, but they later said seven people, including the bus driver, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

NB Power also responded to the scene as the bus took out a power pole and downed some wires. Power was shut off to the area so tow trucks could safely remove the bus.

Police redirected traffic and were asking motorists to avoid the area. They cleared the scene around 8 p.m.

Fredericton Transit ended bus service early Monday night due to the freezing rain and poor road conditions.

Nathan Curry was a passenger on the bus and tells CTV News the bus driver was trying to give room to another vehicle parked on the side of Hilton Road when the back end of the bus spun.

“There was really not anything that could have been done,” said Curry, suggesting the bus was either going to hit the vehicle or go into the ditch. “The aftermath of it was like, it’s still, it’s giving me some troubles just with how it was kind of handled.”

Curry said there was confusion amongst passengers about how to leave the flipped bus.

“We couldn’t get to the emergency exit the windows, because, well, half of them were buried and the other half were above our heads,” said Curry. “So I opened up the roof hatch and started helping people get out through the roof hatch.”

Curry said it appeared two people on the bus had been seriously hurt.

CUPE Local 1783, which represents Fredericton Transit employees, said it had no comment Tuesday on the incident.

Fredericton police respond to weather-related crashes

The Fredericton Police Force says it responded to 10 other weather-related collisions in the city late Monday afternoon and evening.

“Most were minor and did not involve injuries,” said police in a statement to CTV News. “Several vehicles slid off the road, while others were struck in icy parking lots. One parking bylaw ticket was issued.”

Police are urging motorists to drive for the weather conditions and avoid non-essential travel during storms.

With files from CTV’s Sarah Plowman.

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