CP Rail crew bus crash
{{Short description|1980 disaster in Saskatchewan, Canada}}
{{Infobox public transit accident|name=CP Rail crew bus crash|image={{Location map|Saskatchewan|lat_deg=50.1817|lon_deg=-108.2344|label=Crash site}}|date=May 28, 1980|location=Webb, Saskatchewan|vehicles=3 (Bus, Car, Transport Truck)|deaths=22|injuries=11|passengers=30}}
File:Memorial CPR'S PRAIRIE REGION STEEL GANG.jpg
The CP Rail crew bus crash occurred May 28, 1980, when twenty-two people were killed after the school bus they were travelling in was side swiped by an oncoming car near Webb, Saskatchewan.{{Cite web |title=CP Rail Crew Bus Crash {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cp-rail-crew-bus-crash |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}} The collision remains the deadliest traffic accident in Saskatchewan history.{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Public Safety Canada |date=2018-12-21 |title=Canadian Disaster Database |url=https://cdd.publicsafety.gc.ca/rslts-eng.aspx?cultureCode=en-Ca&boundingBox=&provinces=12&eventTypes=%27VE%27,%27HV%27,%27FV%27,%27VA%27&eventStartDate=&injured=&evacuated=&totalCost=&dead=&normalizedCostYear=1&dynamic=false |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=cdd.publicsafety.gc.ca}}
Accident
On May 28, 1980, a bus carrying 30 Canadian Pacific Railway workers known as the 'Prairie Region Steel Gang', was returning home after work they were doing on the railway was cut short by rain.{{Cite web |last=Pacholik |first=Barb |date=May 9, 2018 |title=From a 'steel gang' to a hockey crew, devastating bus crashes remembered |url=https://leaderpost.com/opinion/columnists/from-a-steel-gang-to-a-hockey-crew-devastating-bus-crashes-remembered |website=leaderpost}} At approximately 2:30pm on the TransCanada highway, just west of Webb, Saskatchewan, the bus was struck on its side by an oncoming car, causing the bus to flip on its side. The bus was then hit from behind by a transport truck carrying liquid asphalt, setting off a fiery blaze. Most of the passengers died instantly on scene with others dying either at the hospital or enroute. Many of the charred bodies could only be identified by tattoos, clothing or physique.{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/regina-leader-post/20090418/282243776531389 |access-date=2023-09-26 |via=PressReader}} Among the dead, 12 were Newfoundlanders, 9 Manitobans, and one from Ontario. Of the 30 passengers on board the bus, only 8 would survive along with the 2 occupants of the car and the driver of the truck.
Aftermath
In August 1980, a bronze memorial plaque honoring the 22 victims was unveiled in the town of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, approximately 22kms east of Webb, Saskatchewan.
Legacy
The CP Rail Crew bus crash remains the deadliest traffic accident in Saskatchewan history and the third deadliest in Canada's history.{{Citation |title=List of deadliest Canadian traffic accidents |date=2024-12-04 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadliest_Canadian_traffic_accidents |access-date=2024-12-04 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Public Safety Canada |date=2018-12-21 |title=Canadian Disaster Database |url=https://cdd.publicsafety.gc.ca/rslts-eng.aspx?cultureCode=en-Ca&boundingBox=&provinces=12&eventTypes='VE','HV','VA'&eventStartDate=&injured=&evacuated=&totalCost=&dead=&normalizedCostYear=1&dynamic=false |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=cdd.publicsafety.gc.ca}}