Medical condition may be to blame for school bus crash in Brampton

WATCH ABOVE: Police say school bus driver has medical condition that may have caused him to doze off behind the wheel. Students claim the driver has been in accidents before. Lama Nicolas reports

TORONTO – Residents on Fairhill Street in Brampton, northwest of Toronto, were awoken to a loud bang Tuesday morning after a school bus carrying students veered off the road, striking a car before coming to rest in the front yard of a home.

Frank Boaventura said he came running out his home when he heard the crash.

“I ran to the school bus, opened the back door and told the kids to come out because I could see smoke at the front of the bus,” Boaventura told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I ran to the school bus, opened the back door and told the kids to come out because I could see smoke at the front of the bus," Boaventura told Global News.

Police say the driver has a medical condition that may have caused him to fall asleep behind the wheel of the bus. Fortunately, none of the roughly 20 students on the bus were injured.

The bus travels to Mayfield Secondary School every day, but is not part of the Peel Regional School Board route. Parents have to pay an additional fee to have students bussed to the school’s regional arts program.

Arielle Joseph, 17, is a student at Mayfield and alleges a similar incident involving the driver has happened before.

“There was another incident where he backed up into a city bus,” Joseph told Global News.

The bus is operated by Switzer Carty Transportation. Company spokesperson Dan Maradin said the driver is experienced, and confirms he was in a previous accident.

“Yes this driver had a previous incident, very minor in nature,” said Maradin. “They go through an evaluation process with our driver training department and are kept out of service until that department deems [the] driver is capable of returning to service.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Yes this driver had a previous incident, very minor in nature," said Maradin. "They go through an evaluation process with our driver training department and are kept out of service until that department deems [the] driver is capable of returning to service."

Maradin said the bus driver, who sustained minor injuries in the crash, is still in hospital undergoing medical tests.

Hydro One says the collision caused a power outage affecting roughly 265 customers and hydro crews were working to restore power.

*With files from Lama Nicolas