A nine-year-old boy has died after being struck by a school bus transporting children in Almonte, Ont., according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
On Wednesday afternoon, the police service posted on social media that it was investigating a serious collision on Paterson Street.
At the scene, OPP officer Corey Noonan said the boy who died was coming from R. Tait McKenzie Public School and was riding a bike at the time of the collision around 3:40 p.m.
Police have notified the boy’s family.
In a statement on Thursday, Mississippi Mills Mayor Christa Lowry identified the victim as Archer Lowe, describing him as a vibrant kid and a terrific soccer player.
He was a student at R. Tait Mackenzie, according to police and the school board.
“There were a lot of people outside at the time, a lot of parents and teachers that were leaving … and unfortunately saw what happened,” Noonan said.
Staff from a neighbouring school rushed out to help after the collision, he added.
The school’s superintendent Casey Nelson said staff were shaken and grieving. “We have had mental health support staff at the school this afternoon, and they will be at the school tomorrow to help staff and students should they need to speak to someone about this sad loss,” Nelson said in a statement to CBC.
Neighbour Jean Smith said vehicles drove fast on Paterson Street, which could be busy with pedestrians.
“It’s a race track,” Smith said. “There are so many young kids and they’re on bicycles, they are on scooters, they’re running, they’re playing, they’re kids. And the traffic — it just comes and comes and goes.”
The two-lane street separates the neighbourhood’s catholic and public elementary schools. It’s also a couple kilometres away from the local hospital.
Smith said she’s seen accidents here before and is surprised she’s hasn’t seen more.
“These four corners here are unreal. Some stop, some don’t. It’s a real speed zone,” Smith said. “It just gets faster.”
Dave Overholt also lives in the area. He said Paterson Street is congested at the beginning and end of the school day.
“There’s kids on bicycles. There’s mothers with walkers, with toddlers, taking them to school, arrangements to pick up,” Overholt said. “And then we have heavy traffic for the community at large.”
Almonte is located about 50 kilometres southwest of Ottawa and is part of the Township of Mississippi Mills.
The OPP said Wednesday that Paterson Street would be closed for several hours while police, including collision experts, investigated.
