Passengers rescued after live wires fall on TTC bus
Posted August 20, 2012 1:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Up to 30 passengers spent a nervous hour trapped on a TTC bus after a crane collapse on Kipling Avenue at Hinton Road in Rexdale toppled seven hydro poles, sending live wires down onto the vehicle.
It happened at around 1:20 p.m.
None of the passengers were hurt, and police credit the driver with preventing them from leaving the bus before Hydro crews assured it was safe to do so.
The driver, who only gave the first name Ewa, said the passengers wanted to exit the bus, but she convinced them it wasn’t safe.
“They were almost forcing me to open the doors, they wanted out, everybody wanted out.”
Wayne Lawson, who was on the bus at the time, thinks her persistence may have prevented a tragedy.
“I think that probably saved a lot of people’s lives,” he said. “I’m sure somebody could have been electrocuted because those wires were everywhere.”
Coun. Doug Ford praised the driver’s efforts.
“The TTC driver is a hero,” he said. “She kept everyone cool and calm and collected.”
Kipling was closed between Westhumber Boulevard and Taber Road for several hours. The area reopened around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Toronto Hydro said electricity was fully restored to the area at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The crane operator was rescued and hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
The Ministry of Labour is investigating.
