Driver charged in Stratford school bus crash

A Stratford school bus driver has been charged in a Thursday morning crash that sent one student to hospital.

Stratford police say 11 elementary school aged students were on board when the bus suddenly drove off the road on John Street South and struck a tree around 8:30 a.m.

The force of the collision knocked down the tree and damaged the bus.

“I would say its extensive front-end damage,” said Const. Darren Fischer. “The entire front of the school bus was pretty much taken off when it struck the tree. So significant damage to the bus and the tree was cut right down as a result as well.”A school bus crash in Stratford on Nov. 2, 2023. (X: @SPSmediaoffice)

Students were treated on scene by paramedics and one was taken to hospital for neck pain, police say. The driver suffered minor injuries and was also taken to hospital.

In a release Thursday afternoon, Stratford police say the driver has been charged with careless driving as police “were unable to determine a reasonable excuse for the driver to leave the roadway.”

John Street South was closed for several hours for the police investigation and cleaned up but has since reopened.

The Stratford crash was one of two collisions involving buses Thursday.

Around 7:30 a.m., a passenger van slammed into a school bus on Potters Road near Tillsonburg.

OPP said the driver of the van was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead.

The bus driver was not hurt and there were no students on board at the time of the collision.

OPP are investigating following a crash involving a school bus in Oxford County on Nov. 2, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)