'The bus spun 180 degrees' in Ont. crash that sent students to hospital

deuce students and deuce drivers suffered venial injuries after a schooltime jalopy collided with a tractor-trailer Tuesday morning, east of Clinton, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say the crash happened shortly after 8 a.m. At the intersection of North Line and Summerhill Road during heavy fog that reduced visibility across the region.

“You can imagine that was quite an impact,” OPP Const. Craig Soldan said. “The bus was spun around almost 180 degrees.”

The crash comes amid a recent rise in school bus-related collisions across southwestern Ontario. Provincial police say more than 30 crashes involving school buses have been reported in the region over the past few months.

Police say the bus had been stopped at a stop sign and was attempting to turn left onto North Line when it was struck on the driver's side by a northbound tractor-trailer. The truck later entered a ditch on the east side of the roadway.

Three of the four people involved were taken to hospital in Seaforth for treatment, while the fourth was treated at the scene.

Police say the crash remains under investigation and charges could still be laid.

Soldan said dense fog blanketed much of the region Tuesday morning, sharply reducing visibility for drivers.

He said motorists travelling in fog should manually turn on their full headlights so both headlights and taillights are visible, rather than relying on automatic light settings.

“If you're approaching an intersection where there's through traffic and you're entering from a stop sign or yield sign, you've got the responsibility to make sure you can proceed safely,” he said.

In some cases, that may mean rolling down a window and listening for oncoming vehicles if visibility is too poor to see clearly.

“If you can't see and you can't make that turn safely, then just don't do it,” Soldan said. “Pull over and wait it out.”

He said driving in dense fog can be similar to a winter whiteout, where waiting for conditions to improve may be the safest option.

Police say drivers should slow down, allow extra travel time and ensure it is safe to enter intersections when visibility is limited.

Police say they have seen an increase in drivers illegally passing school buses during student pick-ups and drop-offs across the region.

“We're having motorists still trying to pass school buses when they are activating their lights,” Soldan said. “When those red lights are activated and that stop arm comes out, you must, by law, stop.”

Soldan said officers across southwestern Ontario are conducting targeted enforcement to catch drivers who break those rules.

“If we find someone passing a school bus when the lights are activated, they're certainly going to get charged under the Highway Traffic Act,” he said.

He added that in some cases the registered owner of the vehicle can also be fined if the driver cannot be identified.

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