RCMP investigate school bus rollover west of Edmonton

Police are investigating after a school bus with several students on board rolled onto its side in a single-vehicle collision west of Edmonton Monday morning.

Stony Plain RCMP said the collision happened at about 8 a.m. on Forest Drive near Highway 779. The area is about six kilometres north of Stony Plain, Alta.

RCMP said there were about 35 students from Evergreen Catholic Separate School and Parkland School Division on the bus when it rolled. No serious injuries were reported, police said in a media release Monday morning.

Cpl. Cuneyt Zanbak said when officers arrived, the bus was lying on its passenger side in the ditch alongside a “very, very icy road.”

“A member of the general public came to look at the accident and slipped on ice and I believe hurt himself because it was that icy,” Zanbak said.

A statement on the Parkland School Division’s website said bus M11 was serving the Muir Lake School area at the time. The statement said the bus rolled onto its side.

“Paramedics were on the scene moments after it happened to check all the passengers and driver for injuries. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries,” the statement read in part.

Parents of the students on the bus — who ranged from Kindergarten to Grade 12 — were contacted, according to police.

“A local resident helped get the kids out of the bus and kept everyone warm until emergency crews arrived, and until EMS was able to check everybody over,” Zanbak explained.

“I understand a few parents attended the location to pick up their kids. All the other students went back to Muir Lake School where they either resumed classes or parents picked them up there.”

Zanbak said one student was taken to hospital as a precaution.

“None of the kids reported any injuries. They may have gotten bumped a bit, but it was a very low-speed incident where the bus just slid off the road,” he said.

“Being that it (the bus) is top heavy and the ditch is sloped, it naturally just teetered onto its side. It didn’t actually roll like some people thought initially that it had.”

The superintendent of Parkland School Division said the division is grateful there were no serious injuries.

“The safety of our students is our top priority, and providing safe and caring environments starts the moment those children board our buses in the morning,” Shauna Boyce said in a statement to Global News.

The school division said staff will provide assistance to the students.

“Thankfully no serious injuries,” read a statement on the Evergreen Catholic Schools’ website Monday.

“The icy road conditions in a rural subdivision north of Muir Lake School caused the bus to tip over into the ditch. The children are being transported to Muir Lake School.”