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Nathan Curry was on his way to the mall last Monday when the Fredericton city bus he was riding flipped onto its side during a freezing-rain storm.
Curry told Information Morning Fredericton that the bus driver was trying to get around a vehicle that was stopped on the street, when the bus’s back end started sliding on the ice.
When the bus hit a telephone pole, Curry said, “all the windows went and the people that were on my side of the bus kind of got launched across it in the glass.”
Fredericton police said the crash happened around 5 p.m. last Monday in the Hilton Road area, which is off of Wilsey Road. Seven people were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
On Dec. 29, the day of the bus crash, Fredericton police reported responding to around 11 other weather-related crashes in the city. New Brunswick RCMP had said there were 58 collision reports in its jurisdiction between noon on Dec. 29 and the next morning.
It was supposed to just be a quick trip, and it turned into anything but.- Nathan Curry, bus passenger
Curry said he saw the crash coming and was able to brace himself on the seat in front of him. But once it happened, he said it was apparent that several people were “very hurt and needed help.”
“Everyone was still in shock and kind of just trying to gather themselves and make sure that everyone was OK,” he recalled. “And I didn’t know how far away the ambulance was or the fire department.”
He said the bus driver broke through the windshield to escape and was followed by several people.
Curry said he opened the roof hatch to let some people out and noticed one man who was badly injured, so he looked around and located a first aid kit.
“And by the time I found it, luckily the fire department had showed up and started tending to people and getting the help that they needed,” Curry said.
Looking back on the crash, Curry said he “couldn’t blame anyone” for it, noting the freezing rain and “terrible road conditions” that day.
Curry said after first responders arrived, he checked himself over and was unharmed, so he went home, which was around a five minute walk away.
“It was supposed to just be a quick trip, and it turned into anything but,” Curry said.
Investigation into incident continues
CBC News requested an interview with the city, which oversees Fredericton Transit, about the crash but one was not provided.
An emailed statement from transit manager Fred Gerrior said accidents, such as the one last week, are taken very seriously.
“The investigation remains ongoing and Fredericton Transit would welcome a discussion on this matter once the investigation is complete,” Gerrior said. But he did not specify what an investigation would entail, who was completing it or a timeline.
“Conditions during any winter weather event are evaluated continuously on a case-by-case basis, and the decision to pause service during a storm is made with great caution,” he said.
At the time of the crash, Gerrior said no operators or dispatchers had reported unsafe conditions, “however, ice storms can lead to rapidly changing conditions.”
In an earlier email to CBC News, a city spokesperson had said transit service was eventually suspended at 7:15 p.m. on the day of the crash, before completing a final run at 9:15 p.m.
The email also said the bus sustained “significant damage” but no disruptions to transit service were expected as a result.