A 24-year-old motorcycle driver died Thursday morning after being involved in a collision with a bus on a busy north Edmonton road.
Police said the fatal crash happened on 97 Street, near 157 Avenue, shortly after 9 a.m., shutting down a stretch of the road.
Police interviewed several witnesses and said the motorcycle hit the back of an Edmonton Transit System bus as it was slowing down to turn right.
“From what the witnesses are telling us, excessive speed was a factor,” said Const. Joe Slemko with the Edmonton Police Service major collision investigation unit. “There was no braking and that essentially will possibly fall in line with some of the other circumstances that we have to look into prior to this collision occurring.”
Slemko said there was also no evidence of stunting, road rage or impairment.
“We’re just looking at the circumstances as far as the drivers that are involved here, their state of mind prior to this collision occurring,” he said.
Several police officers were on scene Thursday morning and the intersection was cordoned off with police tape. The ETS bus involved was pulled over to the side of the road.
“Obviously the driver of the bus is very shaken up, a lot of witnesses are very shaken up from what they observed. Like I say, extreme rate of speed into the back of a bus and all of them obviously traumatized by what they saw,” Slemko said, adding there was “absolutely no liability on the part of the ETS driver.”
Police said the man driving the motorcycle died on scene.
Drivers were asked to avoid the area while police investigated. The road was closed between 153 Avenue and 160 Avenue, but was reopened by 2:30 p.m.
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