City pays out $8M in bus-train crash lawsuits
31 of 39 lawsuits filed over fatal September 2013 crash now closed, city solicitor says
The City of Ottawa has so far paid out $8 million in lawsuits related to the September 2013 crash between a double-decker OC Transpo bus and a moving Via Rail train in Barrhaven that killed six and injured many others.
The city has been served with 39 lawsuits claiming $26 million in relation to the fatal accident, according to an email from city solicitor Rick O'Connor. As of Tuesday, the city had settled 31 of them.
The individual settlements are confidential, O'Connor said.
CBC News has previously reported that undisclosed settlements were reached with the families of Michael Bleakney, 57, and Rob More, 35, who were both killed in the crash.
The families of passengers Karen Krzyzewski, and Carleton University students Connor Boyd and Kyle Nash — all killed in the crash — had also filed lawsuits against the city, but it is unknown if their suits have been settled, or remain outstanding.
A December 2015 report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said bus driver Dave Woodard, who was also killed in the crash, was likely distracted by a video screen he was required to monitor to ensure no passengers were standing on the upper deck while the bus was moving.
The report also cited the speed of the bus, the curve in the road ahead of the crossing, company practices and the vehicle's crashworthiness as contributing factors.