Deadly bus crash update

Photo: The Canadian Press

Police and first responders work at the scene where a double-decker city bus struck a transit shelter in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.

Ottawa police will provide an update today on the ongoing investigation into last week's double-decker bus crash that killed three people and injured 23 others.

Chief Charles Bordeleau and Staff Sgt. Peter Jupp of the collision investigation unit will discuss the structure of the investigation, the agencies involved and the work of investigators.

The bus, on an express route from downtown to the suburb of Kanata, wasn't scheduled to stop at Westboro station on Friday when it slammed into the roof of a shelter, cutting through the right side of its upper deck.

The bus driver, initially arrested hours after the crash, has since been released unconditionally pending further investigation.

It has been just five years since another Ottawa double-decker bus broke through a warning gate at a rail crossing and hit a moving Via passenger train, killing six people aboard the bus.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigated the 2013 crash, but only because a Via Rail train was involved.

Some experts have called on the federal agency to lead this investigation as well, but Mayor Jim Watson said he's confident in the Ottawa police to handle this case.

Earlier, Bordeleau said the investigation will not yield answers quickly and he cautioned the public not to jump to conclusions about the events leading up to the collision.

The bus was at or near its full capacity at the time of the collision, Bordeleau has said.

Sgt. Cameron Graham of the collision investigation unit said police would conduct multiple drone flights over the scene of the wreckage, as well as gather data from the vehicle itself and any available video surveillance.