Three people were killed and several were injured in a fiery, mid-day chain reaction crash on a busy north end street that left two Calgary transit buses on fire.
The crash happened just after 1 p.m. Thursday.
Police Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward said the tragedy appears to have begun after a transit bus slammed into a car that then hit other vehicles.
He said the bus then bounced off that crash, through the intersection and then hit a second transit parked bus at a bus stop, setting off a fire and sending that second bus across the road to collide with three more vehicles.
He said the second bus was powered by natural gas, which is believed to have caused the fire.
Video and photos circulating online showed the second bus with its roof completely on fire as thick, ash grey smoke billows skyward.
The front end of the bus that set off the chain reaction crash appeared crumpled and smashed, its steering wheel hanging out below a tuft of flames.
“I’ve been a police officer for 36 years and I think this is probably the biggest scene I’ve worked on in relation to the collision we’ve got here,” Woodward said.
EMS spokesperson Adam Loria said 19 people were injured in all, including 10 that were taken to hospital via ambulance and the three deceased.
A police officer was also injured and sent to hospital.
“It was a very busy scene,” Loria said.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he’s heartbroken over the deaths and injuries.
“There will be a full investigation into what happened,” Farkas said on social media.
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