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CP Rail crew bus crash
1980 disaster in Saskatchewan, Canada From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The CP Rail crew bus crash occurred May 28, 1980, when twenty-two people were killed after the school bus they were travelling in was sideswiped by an oncoming car near Webb, Saskatchewan.[1] The collision remains the deadliest traffic accident in Saskatchewan history.[2]
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Accident
On May 28, 1980, a bus carrying 30 Canadian Pacific Railway workers, known as the "Prairie Region Steel Gang", was returning home after work they were doing on the railway was cut short by rain.[3] At approximately 2:30pm on the TransCanada highway, just west of Webb, Saskatchewan, the bus was struck on its side by an oncoming car, causing the bus to flip on its side.[3] The bus was then hit from behind by a transport truck carrying liquid asphalt, setting off a fiery blaze.[3] Most of the passengers died instantly on scene with others dying either at the hospital or enroute.[3] Many of the charred bodies could only be identified by tattoos, clothing or physique.[4] Among the dead, 12 were Newfoundlanders, 9 Manitobans, and one from Ontario.[3] Of the 30 passengers on board the bus, only 8 would survive, along with the 2 occupants of the car and the driver of the truck.[4]
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Aftermath
In August 1980, a bronze memorial plaque honoring the 22 victims was unveiled near the town of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, approximately 22 km west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan.[3]
Legacy
The CP Rail Crew bus crash remains the deadliest traffic accident in Saskatchewan history and the third deadliest in Canada's history.[5][6]
See also
References
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