High speed was a factor in a crash involving a school bus and a car in Mont-Saint-Hilaire late Friday afternoon that has left one 18-year-old woman dead, says the police force that serves the South Shore community where the accident happened.
The woman, a passenger in the car, died from her injuries in hospital on Friday, while the driver of the car, a 19-year-old male, remained in intensive care as of Saturday afternoon, Captain Yanic Parent of the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-Saint-Laurent, said.
Another 25 people were injured, all students aged about 15 to 18 years old. They were among about 40 passengers on the bus. The injured included 19 people who were taken to hospital by bus, Parent said. Another six students who were more seriously injured were taken to hospital by ambulance, he said. Their lives are not in danger, he added.
Police officers were still investigating what caused the crash on Saturday afternoon, Parent said.
The investigation could take weeks, he said, because, among other things, a coroner will need results of toxicology tests to determine whether any drugs, alcohol or other substances were factors in the crash.
“What is for sure, is that high speed is involved in this case,” Parent said, adding that it was “possibly the car.”
It was not known on Saturday whether any of the students remained in hospital. Their injuries ranged from bruises to fractures, while some were suffering from nervous shock, Parent said.
The crash occurred at 4:45 p.m. on Friday on Route 116, at the corner of Authier Rd. in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, about 30 kilometres from Montreal. A caravan of school buses had just left Collège Saint-Hilaire, a private high school.
