Coroner's inquest into deadly Westboro bus crash to start April 2
3 killed and dozens injured in 2019 collision, driver found not guilty
Ontario's coroner's office will hold an inquest this spring into the double-decker bus crash that killed three people and injured dozens of others at Westboro station in Ottawa in 2019.
OC Transpo bus operator Aissatou Diallo was driving bus 8155 when she crashed into the steel awning on Jan. 11, 2019, killing three passengers — Anja Van Beek, Judy Booth and Bruce Thomlinson, all federal public servants. Dozens more passengers were injured.
Police charged Diallo with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and 35 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
She was found not guilty in 2021. The judge ruled that he could not prove her driving was a "marked departure" from the standard of care that a reasonable person would apply.
The "oppressive" sun setting in front of her was "obviously a hazard," while an "errant" and misleading road marking led her directly into a snow-filled gutter, contributing to the crash, said Ontario Court Justice Matthew Webber that September.
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That section of the transit station has since closed to be converted to light rail.
The inquest, which was called last summer, will examine the circumstances surrounding the three deaths. A jury could make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
Twenty-one days have been set aside for the inquest, starting April 2.