Child dies, another seriously injured in Quebec after school bus hits truck

Quebec provincial police say a five-year-old boy has died and a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured after a collision between a school bus and a truck in Lyster, Que., on Tuesday.

Police said on Wednesday afternoon that the 10-year old boy's condition had stabilized in hospital and they no longer fear for his life.

After the accident on Tuesday, police had initially said the boy would be transported to Montreal's Sainte-Justine hospital. On Wednesday, provincial police confirmed he was brought to a hospital in Quebec City instead, where he is still recovering.

The young students were riding on a full-size school bus when it hit a parked bucket truck at about 3:30 p.m. ET on Route Anna, near 8e Rang.

A bucket truck is equipped with a boom lift, so workers can reach high places.

At the time of the collision, two workers were doing maintenance on wires above the road. Police say the workers were shaken up but not injured.

The bus driver, a man in his 70s, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police say.

Police said the setting sun may have contributed to the collision, affecting the bus driver's vision, though they are still investigating.

Lyster is in the Centre-du-Québec region, about 70 kilometres south of Quebec City.

Tight-knit community

The mayor of Lyster, Yves Boissonneault, said the accident has been difficult for the community to handle because almost everyone knows someone directly affected by it.

"Everyone knows each other," he said, "so we know the family of the child [who died], we know the family of the driver, we even know the first responders."

Boissonneault said everyone in the town of about 1,600 people is shocked and upset.

The two children involved in the accident were students at the Bon-Pasteur primary school.

Fany Samson, a spokesperson for the school service centre that oversees the region, also said the death of one of the students has been devastating.

"After speaking to the people at the school here, the principal and others, everyone is feeling sad," she said. "People have been dealing with a lot of emotions, a lot of pain."

 The school says it's offering psychological support and resources to children, parents and staff members.