2 children critically hurt, 3 others taken to hospital after crash between school bus, truck west of Edmonton

Two boys sustained critical, life-threatening injuries in a crash involving a school bus and flatbed truck in Spruce Grove, west of Edmonton, Friday morning.

While RCMP initially said the three children and two adults who were hurt were all in stable condition, the latest information from Alberta Health Services at 10:30 a.m. was that two boys were more seriously injured than had previously been reported by police.

The crash at Diamond Avenue and Golden Spike Road happened around 8:15 a.m. The school bus was northbound on Golden Spike Road when it was struck, RCMP said.

Only three children were on board the Parkland School Division bus at the time of the collision. All are believed to be between the ages of eight and 13.

A crash between a school bus and a flatbed truck at Spruce Grove's Diamond Avenue and Golden Spike Road intersection on Nov. 4, 2022, injured three kids and two adults.

The third student, a girl, was treated at the scene and taken to hospital by family.

The drivers – a woman in her 60s and a man in his 40s – were hospitalized in "serious but stable condition," the health agency said.

A nearby business owner and a colleague were two of several people who rushed to provide aid.

"I saw two children [out of the bus]. There was one lying in the intersection, and the one here," Chris Heyligers told CTV News Edmonton, pointing to a ditch behind her.

Five people were hurt in a Parkland School Division bus and a flatbed truck in Spruce Grove on Nov. 4, 2022, including two elementary-aged boys who sustained critical injuries.

"There was quite a bit of blood on his face and his hands. He was awake, though," she said, speaking about an hour after the crash.

"I'm still vibrating. And I actually cried. It was very upsetting to me. I'm traumatized because anybody that has kids, or anybody that has a heart, when they see a child injured you feel very helpless."

A woman carries a child away from the scene of a crash at Diamond Avenue and Golden Spike Road in Spruce Grove on Nov. 4, 2022. The collision between a school bus and a flatbed truck injured three students and both drivers.

When CTV News Edmonton arrived on scene, the truck was lying on its side off the roadway and the school bus appeared to have sustained significant damage to its passenger side.

It's not yet known what caused the crash. Const. Sarah Williams said it was too early to tell whether road conditions were a factor.

A collision analyst team had been called in to investigate.

The area was closed to traffic.

Five people were hurt in a Parkland School Division bus and a flatbed truck in Spruce Grove on Nov. 4, 2022, including two elementary-aged boys who sustained critical injuries.

INTERSECTION TROUBLED: COMMUNITY MEMBER

As Heyligers surveyed the debris around her, she recalled writing to the City of Spruce Grove several years ago with concerns about the intersection.

"I have seen multiple – and I mean multiple – accidents. Like, sometimes twice a month. Sometimes they're just minor. I've seen, you know, a couple of vehicles flipped over. A few years ago, there was a minivan that had flipped over a couple of times. Yeah, it's just constant," she told CTV News Edmonton.

Spruce Grove business owner Chris Heyligers recalls being one of the first people on scene of a crash involving a school bus and truck at Diamond Avenue and Golden Spike Road on Nov. 4, 2022.

She says the city told her five years ago that the intersection had been deemed safe.

"That is one of the reasons that I'm vibrating," Heyligers said.

"I'm hoping now that the city will take notice and actually do something… You know, in a lot of cases, I've seen intersections where there were just too many accidents and they finally did something. Like, people have to die first? I don't know. This is as close to death. They escaped death [today]. Thank God."

A Spruce Grove spokesperson confirmed to CTV News the city received a complaint from a resident in 2016 and that a third party conducted a study on the intersection. 

"The resulting data showed an electronic signal (traffic light) was not warranted," Jennifer Hetherington said.

Hetherington added the intersection isn't in the top 10 for crashes in the city, with one crash in 2020 and three in 2021.

A police officer takes photos at the scene of a crash between a Parkland School Division bus and a truck at Spruce Grove's Diamond Avenue and Golden Spike Road intersection on Nov. 4, 2022.

"Certainly I, myself, have been to a collision there," Const. Williams told CTV News Edmonton.

"It is a high-traffic area. It's one of our main thoroughfares. And, you know, high-traffic areas – particularly at this time of day – are going to result in more collisions. We are aware that it is an issue."

Parkland School Division dispatched its trauma response team to support the students and families involved, as well as those at school.