Westboro bus crash inquest hears 44 safety recommendations
The Westboro bus crash inquest jury has heard 44 recommendations for improved bus safety in Ottawa, including a call to reduce speed limits near Transitway stations and to assess new drivers for proficiency on all bus types.
Article content
Article content
The jury was presented Friday with a joint slate of recommendations from inquest counsel, the City of Ottawa and the bus drivers' union, along with the families of Bruce Thomlinson and Judy Booth.
Article content
Article content
Thomlison, 56, Booth, 57, and Anja Van Beek, 65, were second-floor passengers on Bus 8155 when the double-decker slammed into Westboro station on Jan. 11, 2019.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Rookie driver Aissatou Diallo was driving 10 km/ hr over the 50 km/ hr posted speed limit on approach to Westboro Sation when she veered off the road and lost control of her bus on the snowy shoulder.
Article content
Inquest participants jointly recommended the speed on approach to Transitway stations be reduced to 30 or 40 km/hr.
Article content
Jurors have heard three passengers died and 17 others were seriously injured when the rigid steel awning of Westboro Station's passenger shelter pierced the shell of Bus 8155 and collapsed nine rows of seats.
Article content
'What is without dispute,' inquest counsel Alessandra Hollands said Friday, 'is that Ms. Booth, Mr. Thomlinson and Ms. Van Beek, along with all passengers on Bus 8155, should have been able to get to their destination safely.'
Article content
Article content
Hollands told jurors its their role to determine what can be done so that other transit riders in Ottawa arrive at their destinations safely.
Article content
The joint recommendations stopped short of calling for existing Transitway shelters to be torn down.
Article content
Instead, the participants recommended the city assess the Transitway for 'potential intrusion hazards' that are within three metres of the curb.
Article content
The inquest has heard that seven Transitway stations still have passenger shelter canopies similar to those at Westboro Station. Westboro Station itself has been torn down to make way for the LRT.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
City outlines next steps on driver cameras and other bus crash inquest recommendations
The City of Ottawa says it will examine the potential installation of driver-facing cameras on OC Transpo buses, following a recommendation from a recent coroner's inquest into a fatal 2019 bus crash. The nearly month-long inquest in April delved into the circumstances of a packed double-decker bus slamming into a Transitway shelter on Jan. 11, 2019. Three passengers — Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anja Van Beek — died in the crash and many others were injured. While the city accepted civil responsibility, the driver, Aissatou Diallo, was charged with 38 counts of dangerous driving causing death or bodily harm. She was acquitted of all charges in a judge-only trial in 2021. Diallo did not testify at either the inquest or her trial, but an OC Transpo official told the inquest that if a driver-facing camera had been on board Diallo's bus, more would be known about her actions in the lead-up to the crash. The jurors ultimately issued 60 non-binding recommendations, two-thirds of which were directed at the city. They included a call for Ottawa to "install operator-facing cameras on all OC Transpo buses to be used for safety purposes." "This data should be regularly tracked by an accountable member of the governance team," the jurors added. Adjusting current cameras The city has now provided its initial response to the recommendations, with "a comprehensive status update and action plan" to follow later this year. City staff agree with the idea of operator-facing cameras on all OC Transpo buses, adding that "a robust policy/program will be developed" similar to the one that already exists for cameras on OC Transpo's federally regulated LRT line. But installing cameras could bring "significant budgetary pressures," the city warned councillors ahead of the next meeting of Ottawa's transit committee on Thursday. "In order to develop a response to this recommendation, research will need to be completed, a robust policy must be drafted, all relevant stakeholders and unions must be consulted, and a technical analysis ... will need to be undertaken. Once all of these steps have been completed, the costs can be presented for consideration through the budget process," the city said. One option, according to the city's initial response to the recommendations, could involve adjusting existing CCTV cameras on all buses purchased since 2016 so that they offer a wide-angle view that would include the driver. Just over 350 of the buses in OC Transpo's fleet currently have CCTV cameras, the city clarified with CBC via email, while the remaining 382 buses do not have onboard cameras. "Staff are currently assessing the feasibility of utilizing the current CCTV camera system to address the inquest recommendation or determine if a new camera system is required," according to the city's email. Union concerns Cost aside, the notion of driver-facing cameras on buses has sparked privacy concerns with the local union representing OC Transpo drivers. When lawyers made their final pitches to the inquest jury, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 279 was the only group to oppose driver-facing cameras on buses. However, in an interview with Ottawa Morning the day after the jury issued its recommendations, ATU Local 279 President Noah Vineberg clarified the union's position. "Privacy always becomes an issue, but that does not trump safety," Vineberg said. "As long as [the use of camera footage is] properly monitored, as long as there's an agreement in place on how those systems are going to be used, and if it's in the lens of safety ... then ATU 279 doesn't stand in the way." The city said its plan "will ensure appropriate protections for employees' privacy." Consultations on LRT cameras took several years, the union's lawyer told the inquest. Negotiations on a new contract for OC Transpo drivers have begun and have involved discussion of video footage, Vineberg said via email. More days of retraining The inquest jury also recommended that a portion of OC Transpo's bus fleet be dedicated to training drivers. City staff said they support this idea in principle but that given the current shortage of buses, the recommendation can't reasonably be implemented without significant impacts to service. "It is expected that a stable, reliable fleet will not be fully available until Q4 2027," according to the city's response to the recommendations. The inquest heard that after she was involved in a preventable and serious collision in December 2018, Diallo received only one day of refresher training before being put back on the road. Within a week, she was involved in the fatal Transitway crash. "How quickly after a previous incident she was back behind the wheel — that was really kind of astonishing to me," said Laura Shantz, a member of the advocacy group Ottawa Transit Riders. The jury recommended the city establish a separate evaluation procedure for probationary operators involved in serious preventable collisions, and that before the driver returns to service they receive a minimum of five days of retraining. Aspects of this recommendation are currently in place, according to the city, but staff will review the recommendation and report back to the transit committee later this year. The committee will meet Thursday to discuss the city's initial inquest response and other agenda items starting at 9:30 a.m.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- CTV News
Ottawa police seek suspects in robbery at Pimisi Station
Ottawa police are asking for the public's help identifying these two suspects following a robbery at Pimisi Station on May 20, 2025. (Ottawa Police Service/handout) Ottawa police are asking for the public's help with identifying two suspects accused of robbing a man at an LRT station last month. According to police, the man got on a Line 1 train at St. Laurent Station on May 20 and rode it to Pimisi Station. When he got off the train, police say a man and a woman on the platform punched him repeatedly and stole his bicycle and the jewelry he had just purchased. The victim was treated for his injuries in hospital. Police are looking to identify a man, described as Caucasian, approximately 5-foot-9, around 20 to 30 years old, with a thin build and light brown hair. At the time of the incident, he was wearing dark pants, grey hoodie, black baseball cap, black socks and dark shoes. He was carrying a black knapsack and brown bag. Police are also looking to identify a woman, described as Caucasian, approximately 5-foot-6, around 20 to 30 years old, with an average build and brown hair. At the time of the incident, she was wearing black tights, grey/light hoodie, a black jacket with a hoodie, white socks, black shoes and carrying a grey side bag. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Ottawa Police Service Robbery Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5116 or by email at robbery@ Police say if someone or something makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable during your transit journey: Approach a Special Constable or OC Transpo employee Call OC Transpo's Special Constables at 613-741-2478 Use one of the yellow emergency phones located throughout the transit system Contact 9-1-1 if in an emergency Customers who are the victim or witness of a crime on transit property can submit an incident report by calling 613-741-2478 or visiting
Calgary Herald
02-06-2025
- Calgary Herald
Judge says Calgary teen's version of events 'impossible,' convicts him of murder
Finding a city teen's claim that Jal Acor Jal accidentally shot himself during a struggle over a rifle 'impossible,' a Calgary judge on Monday found a youth guilty of second-degree murder. Article content Article content The convicted killer, now 19, will undergo a psychiatric assessment in advance of a potential Crown application for an adult sentence. Article content The offender was just 15 when he met with Jal, 16, at a secluded area near the Crowfoot LRT station in northwest Calgary the evening of March 31, 2022, and shot him in the back of the head. Article content Article content While the killer said Jal met with him to see the high-powered rifle he had displayed online, a friend of Jal's family said they dispute that version of how the two teens came to be at that spot. Article content Article content The family says Jal went there to buy a pair of sneakers from the offender for $90, cash he had earlier obtained from his mother, the friend said. Article content But regardless of the reasons the two met before walking to an LRT substation where Jal was shot, Jeffrey found the killing didn't play out as the youth claimed. Article content The offender earlier testified he had handed the gun and two magazine clips to Jal before he began walking away. He told defence lawyer Andrea Urquhart he heard Jal load the weapon before turning toward him and raising it. Article content He said he struggled with Jal for possession of the gun, but lost his grip moments before it fired, testifying it was pointed toward Jal's upper chest and head when he last saw it. Article content Article content But Jeffrey said expert evidence called by Crown prosecutors Todd Buziak and Tahira Amin made that version of events impossible. Article content A pathologist testified Jal was shot in the back of the head, with the bullet exiting the front of his face almost perpendicular to his body. Article content And a firearms expert said the bullet fired from the teen offender's Chiappa M1-9 rifle was discharged with the muzzle pressed against the back of Jal's lower head, and testing showed the gun could not fire without significant pressure on the trigger. Article content 'The end of the gun barrel was pressed right up against the back of (Jal's) head when the fatal shot was fired,' Jeffrey said.
