A 48-year-old driver was charged with speeding Monday after the bus he was driving crashed in Richmond Sunday night, sending 20 people to hospital with minor injuries.
Cpl. Aaron Sproule, with traffic services for Lower Mainland RCMP, said the bus was travelling at "a high rate of speed," over the posted 90 kilometres per hour limit on Highway 99 and that, in part, caused the accident.
"As speeds increase, the likelihood of some sort of catastrophic result increases as well," Sproule said.
The TransLink bus, carrying about 30 passengers on the 351 Bridgeport route, was northbound around 9: 30 p.m. near Cambie Road when the driver of a lightcoloured minivan reportedly abruptly changed lanes in front of it.
Police believe those actions also contributed to the crash.
The driver swerved to avoid the minivan and slammed into the barricade between the bus lane he was travelling in and a merge lane.
Laurence Douglas Brand of Delta was charged with one count of speeding and one count of not wearing a seatbelt.
Twenty people were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries, while others were treated at the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call Deas Island RCMP at 604-946-2184.
