Teacher identified as victim in fatal crash involving school bus near Alma (update)

Provincial police continue to investigate after a fatal collision in Mapleton, near Alma, Wednesday afternoon.

Officers responded to the collision involving a passenger vehicle and a school bus at Side Road 21 and 14th Line around 3:30 p.m. 

The driver of the passenger vehicle died as a result of the collision. On Thursday, OPP identified the individual as 48-year-old Robert D. Bachuk of Elora. 

A spokesperson with the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) confirmed to CityNews he was a local teacher. 

“The accident yesterday is a terrible tragedy. We can confirm that the deceased is a teacher at Alma Public School. We would like to respect the privacy of the family at this time,” read an e-mail statement.

UGDSB Director of Education Peter Sovran said, “This is a terrible situation and our thoughts are with the teacher's family and loved ones, students, and the entire Alma Public School community. We will do whatever we can to support the family, students and staff.”

The school board's crisis response teams attended Alma Public School on Thursday to provide additional supports for students, and trauma support workers have been made available to school staff. 

The board said, “We are communicating with staff, students and parents directly and ask if parents feel their child needs additional support, to please contact their school principal.”

One student from Elora Public School was on board the school bus at the time of the collision, as well as 11 students from Alma Public School. None were seriously injured.