A 13-year-old girl is dead after being hit by a school bus in Laval’s Sainte-Rose neighbourhood, north of Montreal, on Thursday evening. Laval police (SPL) says it received a call at 5:40 p.m. about the collision near the intersection of de la Volière Avenue and des Rossignols Boulevard. “The 13-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene,” said SPL spokesperson Erika Landry, who added that the bus driver, a woman, was taken to the hospital for shock. “We are not talking about criminal involvement, but the driver will certainly be interviewed, and the analysis of the scene will really help us determine the circumstances,” Landry added. According to Laval police, the girl had just exited the school bus and was in the driver’s blind side when she was hit. The bus still had students aboard at the time. “We had a social emergency squad. So, social workers that were there, on the scene to meet the witnesses and the families that were, were impacted with this sad event,” explained Laval police spokesperson Nicolas Mongeau. Investigators are analyzing the scene to determine what led to the crash. Community in shock École Horizon Jeunesse, the school the girl attended, says it was shocked to hear of the incident. “Our thoughts are with the family,” the school wrote in a statement to CTV News. “A support team is on site at the school today to provide support to the community. We are ensuring that students have access to professional services if they feel the need.” Quebec Premier Francois Legault expressed his condolences to the girl’s family. “It’s terrible what we learned this morning about what happened yesterday. A girl, 13-year-old, disembarked from the school bus and then was killed. So I cannot imagine how much it must be hurting for the parents, so all my thoughts are with the parents,” he said. Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer also spoke out, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy, as was “the entire Laval community.” “My thoughts go first to the family and loved ones of the young victim, to whom I offer my sincere condolences,” he said in a statement. “My thoughts are also with the other children who were on the bus and witnessed the scene.” Residents in the area say they are putting together a petition to improve lighting in the area in order to avoid another similar incident. The street lights run on solar power, and some residents told CTV News they don’t feel they are bright enough. In a statement to CTV News, the City of Laval offered its condolences to the family and loved ones of the young girl. It said it that in addition to emergency teams, municipal services quickly went to the site to inspect the site. “At the end of this inspection, temporary measures were put in place, including the temporary repair of a decorative street lamp that normally offers ambient lighting, in order to maintain the sense of security in the area,” the statement reads. Laval has more than 35,000 streetlights on its territory, some of which are of the decorative type, such as those present in the sector concerned, according to the statement. “These street lights, although compliant with the standards, have special characteristics, which may result in additional delays for a complete replacement,” adding that it “gives increased priority to areas where a street lamp failure is the subject of several reports and citizen requests.” The city said it would read the report into the investigation of the fatal collision “in order to make the necessary corrections as soon as possible, if necessary.” With files from CTV News Montreal’s Jack Richardson and The Canadian Press.
