Calgary police release more details on fatal bus crash

Calgary police are sharing more details on the deadly bus crash and explosion here in Saddle Ridge that left three people dead on Thursday. A warning, this story shows a transit bus on fire. People watching from a shopping plaza nearby, in shock and moving away from the flames. Police say three passengers were found dead in the bus. CPS says it's too early to say whether speed, impairment or distraction were factors in the chain of events that led up to the fire. Investigators with Calgary Fire are also looking into it. how that fire may have been caused and how it spread as well. So there's a lot of different factors we'll be looking at due to the severity of this and with the fatalities. Calgary police believe the incident started when a transit bus struck a truck traveling in the same direction on Saddletown Circle. They say the truck then went into an adjacent lane, sideswiped an SUV, and then hit the back of a box truck. They say the bus continued north, striking the back of a sedan and pushing the car through the intersection. The sedan kept going, hit a truck, and then came to a stop. But the bus kept going northbound, striking the back of a second Calgary Transit bus. Police say both buses kept going before coming to a stop. When the two buses collided, police say natural gas tanks on top of the second bus ignited. Within seconds, police say the fire intensified, causing an explosion and a significant fire inside the bus. Really shocking, devastating to be honest. Never want to hear news like this. and my heart goes out to the victims. The area councillor says he doesn't think there's a problem with the city's compressed natural gas buses. It's a freak accident in my opinion. It could happen even with someone driving a car. If I'm driving a car, it could happen to me. Calgary Transit says its compressed natural gas buses get regular maintenance but it will be reviewing operations to ensure any additional safety measures needed are put in place. The transit union says that needs to happen fast. The procedures for fueling them, the procedures for storage and the repair on them is very well established. But we do need to know why this one did what it did because that can't be the default. The bus that caught fire was manufactured by Nova Bus. In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the company said, We are in contact with Calgary Transit to better understand the circumstances surrounding the incident. It would be premature to speculate on the causes before a thorough investigation has been completed. The transit union says the investigations need to provide answers quickly to what caused the crash and what went wrong with the bus equipment so both drivers and transit riders can have peace of mind while traveling on the city's fleet. Brennan Coulter, CBC News, Calgary.