(UPDATE: June 22 @ 7:45 am) – Hwy 97 outside of Lac La Hache has reopened to traffic after a bus carrying school-aged children returning from a field trip went off the highway Friday afternoon.
Following the incident, a separate collision took place that involved a pedestrian, who despite life-saving efforts, died at the scene.
We responded to a motor vehicle incident involving a bus on Highway 97 near Lac La Hache, at 12:55 today. This incident was followed by a second incident in which a person was struck by a vehicle at the same location.
— BC Emergency Health Services (@BC_EHS) June 22, 2024
We dispatched multiple resources: (1/5) pic.twitter.com/zUJvVKsFno
School District 27 superintendent Chris van der Mark said the students on the bus were in Grade 6 and Grade 7 from 100 Mile Elementary and Horse Lake Elementary.
The superintendent said the bus stayed upright during the incident, "which was very important, obviously, but it was a pretty rough spot where it left the road."
He said Friday afternoon that all students had been reunited with their parents.
"The most important thing is that all of our students and our staff are accounted for and some will be getting medical treatment as needed,” said Van der Mark.
In a social media post, BC Emergency Health Services said 11 ambulances and seven air ambulances responded to the scene with primary and advanced care paramedics, supervisors and area managers, some of which arrived in their personal vehicles to help.
“Paramedics provided a variety of levels of care, from assessment to emergency medical treatment, to 36 patients,” reads the post.
“Paramedics transported seven patients to hospital via air ambulance and seven patients to hospital via ground ambulance.”
-With files from The Canadian Press and CHNL.
(UPDATE: June 21 @ 5:10 pm) – The 100 Mile House RCMP are still at the scene of a collision on Highway 97 that involved a bus carrying school aged children in Lac La Hache.
Along with the RCMP, multiple air ambulances, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) ground crews and several local fire departments have responded to the collision.
An update provided by Cpl. Melissa Jongema with the BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) says there was a subsequent collision on the highway where a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.
Despite life saving efforts by BCEHS, the person died at the scene.
According to the update, there were over 30 people on the bus including students and adults who have all been accounted for.
Numerous people who were on the bus have been transported to hospital with “varying injuries.”
“Police are also working with the local school district in order to help re-connect parents with their children,” the news release says.
Although an investigation is ongoing, initial information suggests the bus was travelling on Hwy 97 north of Lac La Hache when it went off the road and down an embankment.
The highway remains closed to all traffic while investigators work to process the scene, Cpl. Jongema says in the release.
BCHP is working closely with 100 Mile House RCMP and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (CARS) has been called out to assist with determining the cause of the collisions.
Police are asking anyone who was travelling in the area and has dash cam footage or witnessed either collision to call the BCHP - 100 Mile House at (250) 395-2456.
(Original story: June 21 @ 2:45 pm) – A vehicle collision involving a bus has been reported on Highway 97 in Lac La Hache.
According to a news release, the incident happened on Friday around 1 pm.
“The highway is currently shut down to all traffic in both directions to allow first responders safely attend and assess the scene,” say the RCMP in the release.
“We are asking the public to avoid the area until further notice to allow crews to work.”
All motorists in the area are asked to follow the direction by Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure employees who are on the scene.
DriveBC says the vehicle collision has the northbound lanes blocked.
No additional details have been provided by the police at this time.
📡#BCHwy97 Reports of a vehicle incident northbound blocking the highway at the north end of #LacLeHache. Crews en route. pic.twitter.com/eAiAITEsSU
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) June 21, 2024
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
