A tragic scene unfolded Sunday morning on Ontario’s Highway 401 near London when a school bus carrying dozens of students crashed, leaving the driver dead and several children injured.

Ontario Provincial Police confirmed that the bus, which was westbound, veered off the highway around 9:40 a.m. before tipping onto its side in a ditch.

Constable Steven Duguay of the OPP said the single-vehicle collision involved 42 passengers—all students.

Four children were transported to hospital with minor injuries, while the driver, a 52-year-old man from the Waterloo region, was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

Emergency crews closed the highway’s westbound lanes between Veteran’s Memorial Parkway and Highbury Avenue for several hours as investigators combed through debris and evidence. The stretch reopened to traffic shortly after 4:30 p.m.

A temporary command post was set up at the East Lions Community Centre, where parents reunited with their shaken children amid hugs, tears, and disbelief.

According to parents and school officials, the bus was transporting a group of Grade 9 students from Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School—known locally as KCI—to Point Pelee National Park for a multi-day field trip. A second bus carrying students from the same group was rerouted back to Kitchener following the accident.

Students described chaos and confusion in the seconds after the crash. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Weldon said she remembered feeling the bus swerve sharply before landing sideways in a muddy ditch. “Something hit it. The whole bus just kept going right, and then it ended up sideways. We opened the emergency hatch and everyone was helping people get out,” she told reporters, still wearing mud-stained clothes.

Maddie and Lily Knight, twin sisters who were seated near the rear of the bus, recalled the terrifying moment when the vehicle went off the road. “We saw wood flying, and then it just went down into the ditch. Everyone fell on me because I was on the side that hit the ground,” Maddie said. The girls’ mother, Linnea Knight, raced to the command centre after receiving a frantic call from her daughters. “It was not the morning we expected,” she said. “Maddie was screaming, everyone was screaming, and I just grabbed my keys and left.”

Police investigators are still working to determine what caused the crash. Several witnesses and students suggested the driver may have suffered a medical emergency shortly before the bus left the road, though Const. Duguay stressed that no conclusion has been reached. “We don’t know yet if it was mechanical, medical, or something else. It’s too early in the investigation to say,” he told reporters.

The impact appeared to have destroyed a roadside construction sign, which may have been struck as the bus veered off. Officers placed evidence markers along the shoulder of the highway where tire tracks and broken sign fragments were visible.

Despite the harrowing scene, the quick actions of students likely prevented more serious injuries. Some helped classmates through the emergency exits, while others assisted those who were shaken or trapped. All students were accounted for within an hour of the collision.

The Waterloo Region District School Board released a statement later in the day confirming that families had been contacted and that counseling and support services would be offered to students and staff. “Our priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of every student and staff member involved,” said Scott Miller, the board’s director of education. “We are incredibly grateful to the first responders and community members who acted quickly and compassionately.”

Parents expressed both relief and concern as they brought their children home. Many urged renewed focus on school-transport safety and driver health. “We just need to look closely at how to keep our kids safe on these kinds of long trips,” said Linnea Knight. “No one expects something like this to happen on the way to a school excursion.”

By late afternoon, investigators were still at the crash site documenting the wreckage, while the community centre remained a gathering point for anxious parents. The OPP said its collision reconstruction team would analyze the bus’s mechanical condition, roadway conditions, and driver health records before releasing a final report.

For the students, what began as an anticipated class adventure ended as a day they will never forget. Many left the scene shaken but thankful to be alive—and deeply saddened by the loss of the man who had safely driven countless children before them.

The investigation continues, but one truth is already clear: tragedy struck swiftly and without warning, transforming an ordinary school trip into a stark reminder of how fragile life can be on the open road.