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CORRECTION: 25 injured and 14 in critical and 11 in serious condition

I will be providing updates from the press conference.

UPDATE: The press conference has since ended.

Bus driver has been detained for the time being as the investigation unfolds.

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This is such a gut wrenching feeling to anyone who works in transit and knows the risks that come with this job. I read this story while on layover and right away it shows you how important it is to be safe in every aspect of our careers. It also saddens me that not only on this board but fb groups have people as @Bus_Medicsaid laughing and using emojis, I don’t think some people understand the severity of this situation 

not only is this a accident that’s caused death and agony to everyone direct and indirectly involved but this is going to bring in questions about the safety of a huge fleet of OC Transpo’s buses, the training department of OC and every other agency will be under heavy scrutiny 

 

a big part of me hopes the driver isn’t at fault for this because to enter a station at that speed and lose control over ice is ridiculous as a professional. Drivers know the roads and materials used in stations/transit ways is more slippery then your normal roads and if the OP is at fault, he clearly didn’t use responsible judgement. He had people’s lives in his hands. 

 

And dont people start saying accidents happen, we are professional drivers we are held up higher then that Prius car that cut us off 

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Hey guys, 

I'm a transit enthusiast from Toronto, (yay TTC) and my specialty is buses. (@7575 can attest to this lol)

But on a serious note, i'm deeply saddened by the recent events in Ottawa. My condolences to all the families who lost people today. (Multiple news sources confirming 3 fatalities) 

My deepest condolences to everyone involved,

 

VI

 

 

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37 minutes ago, Jaymaud0804 said:

Will this be the 3rd Enviro500 retired by OC Transpo?

Based on the extent of the damage and the fact people died, most likely... Wouldn't be surprised if they renumbered the route. They did that with route 76  a year after the September 18th, 2013, collision between 8017 and the VIA Rail Train, where they renumbered it to route 72 to honour the victims.

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27 minutes ago, Jaymaud0804 said:

Will this be the 3rd Enviro500 retired by OC Transpo?

I believe so. 8010, 8017, and possibly 8155.

Unfortunately, I had to drive through the station shortly after the incident, and it was not a pretty sight. One of my passengers exclaimed "oh my fucking god" when the wreck became visible. It's not a way to end a work week, and definitely not something one should see any time. When I found out it was a 269 later in the evening, my heart sank. All I could (and am still) think about are my regulars on my morning 269. :(

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4 minutes ago, Doggosareamazing said:

What happened? That is quite chilling since I was in Ottawa last year. Dearest god.

Today at around 3:50 PM today, OC Transpo Double Decker #8155 (running as Connexion route 269) lost control and collided into the western platform shelter at Westboro station. As a result, 3 people (2 from the bus, 1 from the platform) have perished and 25 were injured (14 critical, 11 serious).

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2 hours ago, Jason L said:

there's talk on reddit that the driver may have swerved to avoid a pedestrian that was on the transitway...

Even if that were to be the case, the severity of the damage suggests that the impact occurred at a relatively high rate of speed. Does anyone know what the speed limit going into/through Westboro station is? 

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4 hours ago, Jaymaud0804 said:

Will this be the 3rd Enviro500 retired by OC Transpo?

 

Seriously that is your first thought?

3 hours ago, Doggosareamazing said:

What happened? That is quite chilling since I was in Ottawa last year. Dearest god.

Oh dear, it could so easily have been you, hug those closest to you a bit harder tonight.

3 hours ago, Jason L said:

there's talk on reddit that the driver may have swerved to avoid a pedestrian that was on the transitway...

Ah the good old “I heard this” speculation is already in full swing.

These sort of tragedies really do bring out the worst in people, somein particular are almost gleeful in their quest to be “first in the news”, it’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in their little lives in months, if not years. I’m fully expecting some “on the spot” reporting live from Westboro shortly.

Social Media is both a great and terrible thing, have a look around various news pages and you’ll see all sorts of rubbish written, I’ve already seen posts “get those killer double deckers off our streets”, idle speculation about what caused the accident, and even racist posts regarding the drivers ethnicity!!

In the next few weeks we’ll get all sorts of hysterical overreaction in gutter rags like the Sun and Citizen, all written to provoke reaction, and we will have all sorts of platitudes from local politicians all trying to make themselves relevant.

Before you hit the send button, sit back, think about what you are posting and the manner in the way you are presenting it, and be respectful. 

 

 

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5 hours ago, NewFlyerFan said:

It’s been awhile since I was there but I remember it being 70k prior and 50k through 

 

5 hours ago, WMATAC40LF said:

Even if that were to be the case, the severity of the damage suggests that the impact occurred at a relatively high rate of speed. Does anyone know what the speed limit going into/through Westboro station is? 

It's 90 km/h then 50 km/h when approaching a station.

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3 minutes ago, Shaun said:

I think it would make sense to raise the canopy design or create a wedge to prevent the bus from mounting the curb upon entering the station. 

As I've mentioned to people who aren't from Ottawa; the Canopy DOES NOT interfere with buses as it is over the platform and not the roadway. This is Lincoln Fields station; same design as Iris, Queensway, and Westboro stations.

20180416_172256_012.jpg

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17 minutes ago, Shaun said:

Yes that is correct but like in this incident it's easy for the bus to mount the curb and crash into the canopy. 

Is there something that can be done to prevent the bus from mounting the curb when entering the station?

Yes and no. They can remove the canopy like they did with the upper level of Queensway station back in 2012, however this station is set to be demolished next year for LRT conversion so there is no point in any kind of modification until then. No know there's nothing to prevent it from jumping the curb because if we add something to prevent it from jumping then going to make the platform non accessible to those in wheelchairs

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1 hour ago, OCTranspoMaster said:

As I've mentioned to people who aren't from Ottawa; the Canopy DOES NOT interfere with buses as it is over the platform and not the roadway. This is Lincoln Fields station; same design as Iris, Queensway, and Westboro stations.

20180416_172256_012.jpg

And yet here we are.

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47 minutes ago, Shaun said:

Yes that is correct but like in this incident it's easy for the bus to mount the curb and crash into the canopy. 

Is there something that can be done to prevent the bus from mounting the curb when entering the station?

 

At the end of the day, millions of bus trips have passed that exact spot and NOT jumped the curb/hit the platform. I think it is reasonable to say that a bus in good mechanical order and being driven within its specified speed limits/parameters should never manage to jump the curb and hit the shelter.

I think this one will boil down to an issue with the way the bus was being driven or possibly its mechanical condition, I don’t think the station design will play much into it since there is only so much you can do to the station, but driving a bus into it at full speed won’t be pretty regardless of what design choices were made. Unless they make the structure out of pillows it is going to be pretty hard to mitigate damage from driving a bus into it at high speed.

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I'm surprised no one has talked about this... At Westboro station there has been construction going on, on a overhead support beam of some sort since October. The construction detour made it so drivers heading towards Barrhaven or Kanata had to deal with a swerve in the road. This combined with black ice theory would make it a plausible cause as to this disaster... Though I'm not sure if it is still like this...

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