A 13-year-old girl died Thursday evening after being struck by a school bus in Laval, shortly after she had got off the vehicle.
Emergency services were called around 5:40 p.m. to an incident involving a school bus and a pedestrian at the intersection of Avenue de la Volière and Boulevard des Rossignols in the Sainte-Rose sector.
Laval Police said the teenager died at the scene. The driver was reportedly taken to a hospital to be treated for shock. Police said the scene was secured over a large perimeter and that witnesses were to be interviewed, including the driver.
In an update on Friday, Laval police spokesperson Nicolas Mongeau said there were a few kids getting off the bus, including the victim, when it appears the driver made a right-hand turn and “the victim was in the blind spot of the driver.”
“The victim was in the blind spot so the driver couldn’t see her, but as we know it was late in the evening, so it’s a lot of factors that made this sad event happen,” Mongeau said.
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Mongeau said the driver will meet with officers in the coming days.
He added all the evidence gathered by the collision and forensic investigation team so far points that “it’s not a criminal accident.”
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer reacted shortly after the incident, saying he was devastated by the tragedy, as was “the entire Laval community.”
“My thoughts are first and foremost with the family and loved ones of the young victim, to whom I offer my sincere condolences,” he said in a statement. “I am also thinking of the other children who were on the bus and witnessed the scene.”
The Centre de services scolaire de Laval — the Laval school board — issued a statement after the incident saying the “educational community is deeply shaken after the death of one of our students at Horizon Jeunesse School.”
“We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and relatives,” the board said, adding it is providing support to staff and students affected by the incident.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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