The scene of an accident west of Kerrobert at the intersection of highways 21, 31 and 51 shows a bus that ended up on its side in the ditch north of the highway after colliding with a semi while travelling east towards Kerrobert. The incident remains under investigation.
Crossroads Staff
A bus carrying oilfield workers collided with a semi just west of Kerrobert and the accident is expected to be under investigation for a while.
The collision occurred at an intersection west of Kerrobert where highways 21, 31 and 51 meet or branch out depending on the direction of traffic, according to the RCMP. The collision occurred on Sept. 14 at about 4:30 p.m.
A press release was issued by the RCMP on Sept. 15, a day after the collision. There were 16 people on the converted school bus including the driver and 15 oilfield workers, the press release says. The male driver of the semi, who was the lone occupant, was uninjured in the accident.
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The female driver of the bus was also uninjured, but 10 of the passengers did sustain injuries that required treatment. The release provides information about where injured passengers were treated, but the Kindersley RCMP has provided other information.
Leanne Flahr, the media liaison for the Kindersley RCMP, says three of the injured passengers were transported by STARS air ambulance to hospitals in Saskatoon, and a fourth victim was transported to hospital in Saskatoon by ground ambulance. The six other injured passengers were “treated and released” by area health centres, Flahr said.
The bus was travelling southeast on Highway 31 as it approached the intersection and the semi, a truck pulling a super B trailer loaded with grain, was travelling east on Highway 51 as it approached the major intersection.
There is no controlled stop for vehicles travelling east and west through the intersection on Highway 31, but there are controlled stops for vehicles travelling east on Highway 51 and south on Highway 21. The bus ended up on its side in a ditch on the north side of the highway after colliding with the semi.
None of the injuries were considered life threatening at the time, the release states. A collision reconstruction expert with the RCMP attended the scene and the roads remained closed until Sept. 15 at approximately 5 a.m.
The road was closed for roughly 12 hours for the safety of officials conducting the investigation. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the collision. The incident is still under investigation and Flahr says a long investigation is expected.
“We had a collision analyst out from Saskatoon and that takes a long time for him to get everything done,” she added, recognizing that no charges have been laid and whether or not any charges will be laid depends on the outcome of the investigation. “It will be a while.”
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