Leftover road markings may have led driver astray in Westboro bus crash, expert says [Video]

• Stream the inquest live here. 

The OC Transpo bus driver who smashed into a canopy at Westboro station in January 2019, leaving three people dead, may have been led astray by road markings that had been improperly left over by a contractor hired by the City of Ottawa, an expert in road vehicle safety says.

“I think it’s clear they have the potential to mislead,” Ian Knight testified on Thursday.

A lower speed approach may have given the driver slightly more reaction time, but the crash’s impact would have still been severe, Knight added.

Knight’s testimony came on Day 12 of a coroner’s inquest into the collision.

On Jan. 11, 2019, a packed OC Transpo double-decker driven by Aissatou Diallo slammed into a Transitway bus shelter at Westboro station. Three people — Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anja Van Beek — died in the crash and many others were injured.