School bus driver faces 3 careless driving charges following January crash in Sudbury

Ontario Provincial Police have charged a school bus driver with three counts of careless driving following a crash in Sudbury’s south end on Jan. 20.

Seven students and the bus driver were taken to hospital following the crash involving a commercial vehicle. The bus driver was treated for life-threatening injuries.

Following an investigation, police charged the 50-year-old driver with three counts of careless driving causing bodily harm.

At the time of the crash there were 12 students aboard the bus.

Sudbury Student Services Consortium, which manages school buses for the four school boards in the region, said some students on the bus  were from the Rainbow District School Board and some from the French public board, known as Conseil Scolaire du Grand Nord. 

Renée Boucher, the consortium’s executive director, told CBC News she’s worked at the transportation service since 2003, and this was the first time she’s had to deal with a serious crash.

“We’ve had other collisions in the past and we’ve had minor collisions, minor injuries, but this is the first,” she said.

“So it’s very difficult, of course, for everyone.”

The bus driver is scheduled to appear at an Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on April 1.