2019 Ottawa bus crash deaths were accidents, inquest jury deems

The jury at a coroner’s inquest into a 2019 Ottawa bus crash that killed three people has deemed their deaths to be accidents, making 60 recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future.

The inquest, which took place over three weeks, examined the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anthonia Van Beek.

All three died after a double-decker bus operated by OC Transpo hopped a curb and struck a shelter at the Westboro transit station on Jan. 11, 2019.

After hearing evidence from many witnesses, including transit safety experts and officials from Transport Canada, the Ontario transportation ministry and the City of Ottawa, the jury came back with dozens of recommendations, including the installation of radar speed signs on all bus transitways and assessing new bus operators for proficiency on all bus types.

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The jury also recommended that the city install driver-facing cameras on buses and that the provincial transportation ministry consider adopting mandatory standards for such cameras on municipal transit buses.

Coroner’s inquest juries do not assign blame or make findings of legal responsibility in a case, but are expected to determine a cause of death and can provide recommendations to prevent future deaths.