By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Central Alberta man okay following serious bus vs. semi crash in west Saskatchewan

Sep 15, 2018 | 11:02 AM

A central Alberta man working for a pipeline company in Saskatchewan was witness to a serious crash Friday night near Kindersley.

Ten people were taken to hospital after a bus carrying crew workers collided with a semi on the northwest edge of Kerrobert.

RCMP said the collision occurred at the intersection of Highways 21, 31 and 51 around 4:30 P.M. The eastbound semi hauling two trailers of canola collided with a coverted school bus which was carrying 15 pipeline workers.

The bus came to rest on its side in the north ditch while the semi came to a stop near the centre of Highway 31 facing north. 

The central Alberta man, who wishes to remain anonymous, was on another bus in the convoy of about six or seven. He suffered no injuries.

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“I was a little nervous about the bus ride already because we almost hit a few deer on the way. I looked up and there was a semi. It didn’t really look like he was trying to stop but he wasn’t going that fast. He was maybe doing 15 clicks an hour,” the man describes. “He went right through the stop sign and the bus driver must’ve seen him last second because he swerved into the other lane and almost into the ditch.”

The man, who says the buses were on their way back to Kindersley from Luseland for the night, noted that the semi had an Alberta license plate and that conditions were clear but overcast.

Of the ten people taken to hospital, three were transported to Saskatoon – two by STARS and one by ground – for further medical treatment. The remaining seven are expected to receive treatment in a Kerrobert hospital, with no further transportation required. The male driver of the semi was not injured, nor was the female driver of the bus. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

According to the Kerrobert Fire & Rescue Facebook page, teams were called out at 4:24 p.m. and all units were back in service by 10:30 p.m. The post says numerous agencies were involved, including the Wilkie, Unity, Dodsland, Biggar, Kindersley, Kerrobert EMS and STARS, alongside the Kerrobert, Unity and Kindersley RCMP and Kerrobert Towing.

A collision reconstructionist has since left the scene and at this point, RCMP do not blieve alcohol was a factor. The sequence of events leading to the collision is still under investigation.

The man says his one piece of advice to people riding the bus like he was is to wear your seatbelt if you’ve got one.

Kerrobert is approximately 140 kilometres southwest of North Battleford and 52 kilometres north of Kindersley.

(Josh Hall – with file from PANow.com)