Speed, possible medical incident investigated as factors in fatal bus shelter crash

Police consider speed to be a factor in a crash that killed a pedestrian at a bus shelter Sunday and are investigating the possibility the driver suffered a "medical incident" before the collision.

A 42-year-old man was killed around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, police said, when a pickup truck hit a bus shelter and building in southeast Calgary.

On Monday, police said the driver, a man in his 70s, was travelling northbound on 36th Street S.E. through the intersection at 17th Avenue in Forest Lawn when the Ram pickup truck mounted the east curb.

The truck continued moving along the curb while "rubbing against the wall of a nearby business" before it struck the bus shelter, and finally a building, police said.

When it hit the shelter, "the vehicle struck and killed a person who was inside," Sgt. Colin Foster, who heads the collision reconstruction unit, told CBC News on Monday.

"What we're really looking for is anybody who may have seen the vehicle prior to 17th Avenue to come forward, and help us try and piece together what's happening with the driver prior to the collision itself," Foster said.

Police unsure why victim was in bus shelter

The driver of the Ram sustained serious injuries, and police said Monday he was taken to the Foothills Medical Centre, where he remains in stable condition.

Speed is considered to be a factor in the collision. Foster said Sunday the limit in the area is 50 km/h, and the driver was going "well above that." 

On Monday, police said a medical incident suffered by the motorist is also being looked at as a possible factor.

"It appeared that the driver was in some form of distress," Foster said.

Meanwhile, he said police are also investigating why the victim was in the bus shelter.

"It is our understanding that he does have a vehicle, and he would have been using that vehicle to get to work or wherever he was going," he said.

"So, I'm not quite sure why he was in the bus shelter. And that's something that we're also investigating — to try and piece together what his movements were."

Anyone who may have information about or dashcam footage of the incident is asked to contact the traffic office at 403-428-4000 or the police non-emergency line, 403-266-1234.