Dorion level crossing accident

Last updated

Dorion level crossing accident
Dorion level crossing accident
Details
DateEvening of October 7, 1966 (1966-10-07)
Location Dorion, Quebec
Statistics
VehiclesSchool Bus, CN Rail Freight Train
Passengers42
Deaths21 (including the driver)
Injured21

The Dorion level crossing accident occurred on October 7, 1966, when a school bus carrying 42 students was struck by a CN Rail freight train travelling at full speed in Dorion, Quebec, Canada (now a part of Vaudreuil-Dorion).

Contents

Summary

On the evening of October 7, at about 7:35 p.m., approximately 40 students from Cité-des-Jeunes high school were travelling by school bus to a dance in Hudson, Quebec, when the bus reached a level crossing. At the time of the incident, the bus was being driven by 22 year old Marcel Fleury, of Dorian. [1] [2] The gates lowered, preventing the school bus from crossing and allowing an eastbound train to continue its route. After the train had passed, the gates rose, allowing the school bus to cross. [3] As the bus began to drive over the level crossing, an unseen second train (with 101 cars in tow) headed westbound, struck the bus and split it in half, dragging one half with it for over 2000 feet (600 m). The other half of the bus was found in a ditch approximately 300 feet (91 m) from the crossing. [4] This incident was the worst disaster to occur in the Montreal area since the LaSalle Heights disaster killed 28 people the year previous. [5]

Of the 41 people aboard, 19 were killed instantly, including the bus driver, with the deceased ranging in age from 12 to 20 years old. [2] Many of the injured were taken to the Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire. One young man subsequently died of his injuries. Another victim, Nicole Bélanger, never fully recovered and her death in 1998 was attributed to the accident. [6] [7] No injuries were reported on the train that collided with the bus. The funerals for the deceased occurred on October 11, 1966, at Cité-des-Jeunes high school. [2] [8] [9]

Investigation

After the accident there was much speculation as to its cause. Hypotheses included malfunctioning crossing gates, and that a number of students lifted the gate to clear the bus's path. After years of investigation the coroner released a statement declaring accidental death with no criminality, and the investigation was closed soon thereafter. [2] The coroner's report concluded the crossing gates were not defective and that eyewitness testimony proved that two or more students lifted the gates despite the possibility of another oncoming train.

Aftermath

Immediately after the disaster Queen Elizabeth II sent her sympathies for the victims to then Governor-General Georges Vanier. [10]

After receiving numerous complaints, requests to reopen the investigation and public demonstrations of disagreement by the citizens of the city of Dorion, the level crossing was replaced by a double underpass by direction of Paul Gérin-Lajoie during November 1972.

In 1999 a commemorative plaque was unveiled in Vaudreuil-Dorion with the names of the 21 victims inscribed. Included in the victim count was Nicole Bélanger. [2] Some survivors gather each year at the plaque and accident site each year to honour the victims, and gathered at the Trinity Church in Dorion to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the accident. [11]

On October 7, 2006, Francine Tougas displayed her documentary entitled Survivre at the Cité-des-Jeunes high school. Survivre documents the reaction to the Dorion level crossing accident by the government, CN Rail, citizens of the city of Dorion, the families of the 19 students killed, and the families of the surviving students.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Level crossing</span> Intersection where a road crosses a railway at the same level

A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion. Other names include railway level crossing, railway crossing, grade crossing or railroad crossing, road through railroad, criss-cross, train crossing, and RXR (abbreviated).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaudreuil-Dorion</span> City in Quebec, Canada

Vaudreuil-Dorion is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 Fox River Grove bus–train collision</span> Grade crossing collision in Fox River Grove, Illinois

The 1995 Fox River Grove bus–train collision was a grade crossing collision that killed seven students riding aboard a school bus in Fox River Grove, Illinois, on the morning of October 25, 1995. The school bus, driven by a substitute driver, was stopped at a traffic light with the rearmost portion extending onto a portion of the railroad tracks when it was struck by a Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line train, train 624 en route to Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaudreuil–Hudson line</span> Commuter railway line in Greater Montreal

Vaudreuil–Hudson is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilchrest Road, New York, crossing accident</span> 1972 crossing accident in Clarkstown, New York

The Gilchrest Road crossing accident was a grade crossing incident that occurred on March 24, 1972, in the town of Clarkstown, New York, between the hamlets of Valley Cottage and Congers, roughly 25 miles (40 km) northwest of New York City. Five students from Valley Cottage were killed, and 44 others were injured.

Exo, the public transit agency for greater Montreal, provides local bus service through its La Presqu'Île sector within the western suburbs of Montreal that lie along the south side of the Ottawa River in the regional county municipality of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Quebec, Canada. All bus routes connect the residents of the communities of Hudson, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Pincourt, L'Île-Perrot, Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, Saint-Lazare and Rigaud to stations on the Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter rail line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brezno train accident</span>

The Brezno train accident was a train accident which occurred close to Brezno, Slovakia, on 21 February 2009, when a train collided with a tourist coach on a level crossing. Twelve people were killed and at least twenty people were injured in the crash. All of the deaths and injuries occurred on the bus, which was pushed for tens of metres by the derailed train. The crash scene is near the popular ski resort of Polomka Bucnik, where the tourists were headed. The crash led to the third national day of mourning in Slovakia's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HaBonim disaster</span>

The HaBonim disaster was an accident which took place on June 11, 1985, when an Israel Railways train collided with a bus carrying schoolchildren on a field trip from Y.H. Brenner middle school in Petah Tikva, Israel. The crash happened near Moshav HaBonim, killing 22 people, and injuring 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaudreuil station</span> Railway station in Quebec, Canada

Vaudreuil station is a commuter rail station operated by Exo in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada. It is served by the Vaudreuil–Hudson line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marhanets train accident</span> Locomotive accident

The Marhanets train accident occurred on 12 October 2010, at Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine when a train collided with a passenger bus on a railroad level crossing. 43 people were reported dead and nine injured. The bus driver, whose actions allegedly caused the collision, was killed in the accident as well. The collision was the worst single road accident in Ukraine's history by number of victims.

The Blackheath train accident occurred at 7:03 a.m. on 25 August 2010 when a Metrorail commuter train crashed into a minibus taxi on the Buttskop Road level crossing in Blackheath, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The minibus was carrying fourteen children to school; nine died on the scene and five were hospitalised. One of the injured children died two days later in the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. The minibus driver was also hospitalised; there were no injuries aboard the train.

The Manfalut railway accident occurred on 17 November 2012 when a school bus, which was carrying about 70 school children between four and six years old, was hit by a train on a rail crossing near Manfalut, Egypt, 350 km south of the Egyptian capital Cairo. At least 50 children and the bus driver died in the crash, and about 17 people were injured. Witnesses reported that barriers at the crossing were not closed when the crash occurred.

Quebec train crash may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Ottawa bus–train crash</span> Fatal crash in Ottawa, Canada

The Ottawa bus–train crash was a collision that occurred between an OC Transpo double-decker bus and a Via Rail train in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven on September 18, 2013, that killed six people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valhalla train crash</span> 2015 disaster in New York

On the evening of February 3, 2015, a commuter train on Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line struck a passenger car at a grade crossing near Valhalla, New York, United States, between the Valhalla and Mount Pleasant stations, killing six people and injuring 15 others, seven very seriously. The crash is the deadliest in Metro-North's history, and at the time the deadliest rail accident in the United States since the June 2009 Washington Metro train collision, which killed nine passengers and injured 80.

The Chipman-Lamont school bus-train collision occurred on November 29, 1960, when a bus carrying 42 students from Chipman, Alberta, near Edmonton, Alberta, was struck by a Canadian National Railway owned freight train, just east of Lamont, Alberta, killing 17 on board.

References

  1. "Nineteen Quebec Teen-Agers Killed," The Leader-Post, October 8, 1966, pg 1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Meagher, John (7 October 2016). "Dorion train-school bus accident: 'It's been 50 years, but it's still difficult,' says sister of twin who died". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 1 February 2018. It's been 50 years, but it's still difficult
  3. Média, Bell. "Vaudreuil-Dorion remembers horrific school bus-train crash, 50 years later". www.iheartradio.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  4. "History Through Our Eyes: Oct. 7, 1966, Dorion bus tragedy". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  5. "Nineteen Quebec Teen-Agers Killed," The Leader-Post, October 8, 1966, pg 1.
  6. VAUDREUIL-DORION REMEMBERS HORRIFIC SCHOOL BUS-TRAIN CRASH, 50 YEARS LATER
  7. History Through Our Eyes: Oct. 7, 1966, Dorion bus tragedy
  8. Leclair, Anne. "Survivor recounts deadly Dorion bus crash on eve of 50th anniversary". Global News. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  9. "Principal relives horror of Dorian bus crash". The Gazette. 9 March 1977. p. 3.
  10. "Nineteen Quebec Teen-Agers Killed," The Leader-Post, October 8, 1966, pg 1.
  11. Leclair, Anne (October 5, 2016). "Survivor recounts deadly Dorion bus crash on eve of 50th anniversary". Global News. Archived from the original on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2021-06-20.

45°23′10″N74°00′38″W / 45.38606°N 74.0105°W / 45.38606; -74.0105