When Dave Woodard started his shift driving the OC Transpo 8017 on Route 76, it was a day like any other. The bus he drove was a double decker bus designed to handle large loads–said to be heavier empty than a regular bus while fully loaded.
Woodard was said to be friendly, not angry, not tired. The man’s widow describes him as being a happy, healthy man–the only recent health problem he dealt with was a cold. Nobody could have imagined what would happen just 2 hours and 50 minutes into Woodard’s shift.
The front end of OC Transpo 8017 was sheared off completely by Via Rail 51, which travelled approximately a hundred meters after the crash. This crash left at least five bus passengers, along with Woodard, dead, and at least 30 injured, some in critical condition. Many are wondering–what was happening with Dave Woodard?
There are multiple theories surrounding this tragedy, including that the brakes may have failed, or something may have happened to Woodard that caused him to be unable to apply the brakes soon enough. With the knowledge that the double decker buses are, in fact, much heavier than a regular bus, it leaves me personally wondering if Woodard simply wasn’t used to that weight, causing him to stop a little too late despite passengers on the bus shouting at him to hit the brakes.
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