'People went flying,' says bus passenger in crash that left 29 injured on Coquihalla Highway

A bus passenger involved in a multi-vehicle crash that left more than two dozen people injured onCoquihalla Highway on Sunday said the pileup happened so fast, he's not even sure where it started.

"All of a sudden we found ourselves overturned," said Jordan Kawchuk, who was taking the Greyhound home to Vancouver after visiting his daughters in Kelowna.

"I recall everybody standing up on an angle and people yelling, 'Get to the right, get to the right!' so we wouldn't tip further."

The bus was tilted to the side, balancing on two wheels, when asemi came barrelling down.

"It was our bus driver who said, over the intercom, 'Brace yourselves.' Then there was what seemedlike a long silence, and then boom. Something hit us, which Inow know was a semi truck," Kawchuksaid.

"People went flying."

Lacey Shepherd was also on the bus and caught the moment a semi came flying into the pileup.

The video catches passengers screaming as the semi skids down the road, with a yell for everyone to brace themselves just beforethe truck hits.

Watch the video below:

Video from bus passenger catches semi crashing into Coquihalla pileup

7 years ago

Duration 0:18

After their own bus crashed, Greyhound passengers watched as a semi careened into the pileup on the Coquihalla Highway on Sunday.

Shepherd said she was "very sore and still shaken up" on Monday, but otherwise unhurt.

In all, two buses, two semi-trailers and two vehicles were caught up in the crash just south of the Othello Road exitjust after 8 p.m. PT. RCMPsaidwinter conditions played a majorrole in the chain reaction crash.

Twenty-nine people were taken to hospital. B.C. Emergency Health Services(BCEHS) said their conditions ranged from stable to critical.

Another 136 people who weren't injured including Kawchukwere takento Hope Secondary School to warm up.

Responders worked for hours in the snowto free people trapped in vehicles. BCEHSsaid22 ground and air ambulances were sent to the scene.

RCMP Const. Mike Halskovsaid that ona scale of 1to 10, the crash is off the charts.

"I would rank this one as an 11 as far as the number of vehicles and people involved.It's a very significant crash," he said. "With the sheer number of people involved, trying to identify everybody, what vehicle they're associated to ... it's fairly complex, that's for sure."

Three firedepartments and foursearch and rescue teams also responded. Mario Levesque, who manages Hope Search and Rescue, said vehicles were sprawled across both lanes and into bordering ditches.

He said rescues were delicate because of the way vehicles were propped up against each other a bad movecould've created a disastrous chain reaction collapse.

"We had one individual who was in one of the tractor-trailers and basically underneath the other tractor-trailer," Levesque said.

"We had to make sure that our personnel were safeand, at the same time, making sure that if we removed part of the vehicle or removed anything, we weren't causing further or possible further injuries to the individual trapped."

Levesque praised the morale of people who'd been involved in the crash. He said they stood freezing on the side of the road, helping direct rescuers to anyone who needed help.

"People were scared but at the same time ... it was nice to see people looking after each other," he said.

The highwaywas closed in both directionsbetween Hope and Merritt for six hoursafter thecrash. Northbound lanesreopenedshortly before 2 a.m. PT Monday and southbound lanes opened just after 8:30 a.m.

B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation had warned drivers earlier in the day to be careful on the road due to poor visibility.

Halskovsaid the massive crash serves as a strong reminder to slow down and drive for the conditions.

"It is better to arrive at your destinationlate and safe than not at all," he said, adding thatdriver impairment isn't believed to be a factor.

Kawchuksaid he remembers conditions on the road as "very white and snowy," but said it wasn't anything he hasn't taken the bus through before.

Greyhound Canada confirmed one of its buses was involved in the crash. It said 51people, including the driver, were aboard.

The company said it would be launching its own investigation into what happened.

With files from CBC Daybreak South