Last week a call came over our scanner that filled the 100 Mile Free Press office with dread.
'MVI involving school bus down an embankment and a pedestrian hit north of Lac La Hache', as memory serves.
In the newsroom, speculation was rife as we listened for more information and started searching online for any indication of what exactly had happened. Our minds were filled with visions of another tragedy like the Humboldt bus crash, only far worse.
We weren't alone in this speculation of course. Those who had witnessed the incident or were stuck in traffic nearby began to post updates on Facebook. Concerned and terrified parents flocked to these posts as they tried to figure out if their children were on the bus and what their injuries were.
In our office, with support from the Williams Lake Tribune, we did our best to get accurate information out into the community to alleviate these fears. Our goal was to inform, not to sensationalize the incident.
Eventually, the truth filtered out and while tragic was not nearly as terrible as we feared. By some miracle, the bus had remained upright as it slid down the embankment filled with a mix of Horse Lake Elementary and 100 Mile Elementary School Grade 7 students. While there were a few black eyes and broken bones, none of them were in mortal danger.
Sadly the same could not be said for an unknown Good Samaritan who stopped their car to help and were hit by another car and ultimately died from their wounds. The thoughts of everyone in the South Cariboo are with their family in this tragic time.
Now just under a week later, as of the printing of this article, the students are all home safe with their families. As Principal Crystal Dawn-Langton told the Free Press, it's the best outcome of a terrible situation.
The Free Press would like to encourage the community, going forward to continue to display the same compassion and care expressed for the students to the bus driver and motorist involved in this incident. Both are also doubtlessly traumatized by this incident whose full details are still not yet known to the public.
While getting the story is always important, being first isn't as important as being right and respectful to the real people involved.
The Free Press
