Police say ‘grossly intoxicated’ driver crashed stolen school bus at construction site west of Edmonton

One man is in hospital following a collision involving a stolen school bus west of Edmonton.

According to police, at around noon on Friday a school bus was involved in a collision on Highway 43 in Lac Ste. Anne, about an hour west of Alberta’s capital.

The bus did not have any children on board.

An investigation from RCMP officers found the bus was stolen from an Edmonton hospital earlier in the day.

RCMP said the school bus was left locked and unattended, but with the keys inside, while parked on a road near the Misericordia Hospital in west Edmonton.

Police said the driver was “grossly intoxicated” and allegedly collided with a barrier truck at a construction site, before driving into an unoccupied pickup truck and then into a ditch. Officers said none of the construction crew were injured.

The highway was temporarily closed early Friday afternoon, but has since reopened.

Witness reports said the collision happened near the summer village of Ross Haven, Alta.

Parkland RCMP said the driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to hospital.

Charges are expected.