Montreal

Woman dies after being struck by STM bus

The woman was near the intersection of St-Laurent Boulevard and Sauvé Street in the neighbourhood of Ahuntsic when she was hit at around 5:30 a.m. The bus was in transit.

Bus driver transported to hospital to be treated for shock, police say

Montreal police are investigating after a pedestrian was hit by a bus Monday. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

A pedestrian has died after being hit by a city bus Monday morning.

The 51-year-old woman was near the intersection of St-Laurent Boulevard and Sauvé Street in Montreal's Ahuntsic neighbourhood when she was struck at around 5:30 a.m.

Montreal firefighters were already on the scene when ambulances arrived, trying to get access to the woman, said Urgences-Santé spokesperson Jeremy Lachance.

"She was trapped under the bus," Lachance said. "When our paramedics got there, it took five minutes until they got access to the patient."

The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition. Police confirmed her death shortly before noon.

The bus driver, a man, was also transported to hospital to be treated for shock.

Montreal police have closed the area to traffic and are trying to determine the circumstances leading up to the collision.

Urgences-Santé spokesperson Jeremy Lachance says Montreal firefighters had to free the woman from under the bus. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Philippé Dery, spokesperson for Montreal's public transportation agency, said the bus was in transit at the time of the collision. There were no passengers on board.

The bus was being driven to the STM's nearby garage after being used on a night route, he said. 

"When situations like these happen, the SPVM leads the investigation with our co-operation," Dery said. "Our experts will also be looking deeper into this unfortunate event."