75-year-old P.E.I. woman dead after Charlottetown bus accident, police say

A 75-year-old P.E.I. woman died after an accident involving a tour bus in downtown Charlottetown Thursday morning, police have confirmed. 

The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. near the crosswalk at the corner of Prince and Grafton streets, in front of Zion Presbyterian Church.

Police say the woman was struck by the bus, a Coach Atlantic motorcoach carrying cruise ship passengers.  

The woman was taken to hospital and later died from her injuries. 

Charlottetown police said no one on the bus was hurt.

The passengers were just off the 2,800-passenger cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse and heading out on a tour. 

"It was coming from the downtown, from the ports area, and it was loaded with passengers. So... we do have lots of witnesses that are providing a lot of background as to what happened during this collision," said Charlottetown police Cpl. Tim Keizer. 

"It would be a very traumatic experience for anybody. We spoke to a lot of the passengers that were coming off the bus and the employees of the bus line did a fantastic job of talking with and comforting the passengers as they were coming off." 

Grafton Street between Great George and Prince streets was closed to traffic for about four hours as the area was cordoned off to let a collision reconstructionist conduct an investigation. It has since reopened.

Keizer said the investigation continues and no more details will be released until it's complete. 

Mike Cassidy, owner of Coach Atlantic, said his sympathies go out to everyone affected by the incident.

"Naturally our first thoughts have to go to the family, the loved ones, the friends of the lady who passed today," Cassidy said. 

"The driver, when he was brought back to the terminal, was just in shock. The best I could do was just wrap my arms around … the driver to say: 'We will get through this.'"

Cassidy said there were around 50 passengers on the bus at the time. Most opted to continue with the tour following the accident and were transferred to another bus.

Some did choose to return to the Celebrity Eclipse, however. 

"Port Charlottetown is deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred earlier today. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those affected during this difficult time," Port Charlottetown CEO Mike Cochrane said in a statement.