UPDATE: On Sept. 30, 2019 Alberta Justice confirmed that the careless driving charge that was laid against Duong had been withdrawn. “The charges were withdrawn on Sept. 20, 2019 because there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” Alberta Justice said in a statement.
The 44-year-old man who was behind the wheel of a school bus when it hit two teens in west Edmonton last month has been charged.
Hung Duong was charged with careless driving after a school bus hit two 13-year-old girls in the area of 206 Street and Hemingway Road, police said in a news release issued on Monday.
Police said alcohol and drugs were not considered factors in the collision.
The collision occurred on March 8. Devony Kasawski was one of the students hit. Her family said she sustained a basal skull fracture, a broken sinus cavity, a broken pelvis, a fractured sacrum, a bruised lung, a broken jaw and a brain injury.
Duong and the passengers on his bus were not injured, police said.
Since the collision occurred, Kasawski’s family and schoolmates at nearby Bessie Nichols School have called for something to be done to improve safety for pedestrians in the area.
READ MORE: Edmonton school demands improved traffic safety after student hit by school bus
Watch below: (From March 22, 2019) Young people in southwest Edmonton rallied for change on Friday morning. As Julia Wong reports, students took to the streets to call for improved safety on streets.
On Tuesday, Gary Dyck with the City of Edmonton’s office of traffic safety said a marked crosswalk will be installed at the intersection by Wednesday.
“Rapid flashing beacons will be added most likely in June,” he said.
Duong is scheduled to appear in court on April 26.
–With files from Global New’s Slav Kornik and Julia Wong