City outlines next steps on driver cameras and other bus crash inquest recommendations [Video]

The City of Ottawa says it will examine the potential installation of driver-facing cameras on OC Transpo buses, following a recommendation from a recent coroner’s inquest into a fatal 2019 bus crash. 

The nearly month-long inquest in April delved into the circumstances of a packed double-decker bus slamming into a Transitway shelter on Jan. 11, 2019. Three passengers — Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anja Van Beek — died in the crash and many others were injured.

While the city accepted civil responsibility, the driver, Aissatou Diallo, was charged with 38 counts of dangerous driving causing death or bodily harm. She was acquitted of all charges in a judge-only trial in 2021.

Diallo did not testify at either the inquest or her trial, but an OC Transpo official told the inquest that if a driver-facing camera had been on board Diallo’s bus, more would be known about her actions in …