Police say other than the involvement of a school bus, there is little similarity between a collision earlier this week and one in December involving an OPP cruiser.
On Monday a woman was charged after a pickup truck ran into the back of a school bus carrying students on Wellington Road 30 west of Highway 6 in Guelph-Eramosa.
Marsha Murphy, 36, of Grand Valley, was charged with careless driving in connection with the incident.
Moments after posting News of the incident on Twitter, the Advertiser received several inquiries as to why the charges in this collision were different than those laid after a seemingly-similar incident where an OPP cruiser rear-ended a school bus in Fergus on Dec. 9.
The officer involved in that incident was charged with making an unsafe start from a stopped position, which caused many people at the time to wonder if a careless driving charge was more appropriate.
“They’re two totally different situations,” OPP media relations officer Bob Bortolato said on Tuesday when questioned by the Advertiser.
He explained that the OPP cruiser involved in the Dec. 9 incident had stopped for the school bus and then “went forward and hit the bus,” whereas in the incident this week the driver ran straight into the back of the bus.
“It’s a lot different than being stopped,” said Bortolato.
An OPP press release stated the incident on Jan. 26 occurred at about 3:55pm while the bus was dropping off children.
None of the six students on board were injured, but the two drivers suffered minor injuries.
Guelph firefighters extricated the female driver of the pickup truck and transported her to a local hospital.
