Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has confirmed that a Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement (CVSE) officer impounded a Greyhound bus near Blue River at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday, May 21.
According to the ministry, the bus was travelling at 110 km/hr in a 50 km/hr construction speed zone. The CVSE officer impounded the bus due to the hazardous circumstances in which the operator placed himself, his passengers, and other motorists.
It was an active construction zone but no one was working at the time.
The officer escorted the bus to Blue River and remained on site. Passengers waited in the Blue River Husky restaurant for another bus and driver to continue the route.
While there they were fed breakfast, said an employee at the restaurant. About 19 passengers were involved.
Greyhound was investigating the incident and was still not sure what happened, said a company spokesperson on Tuesday. Management would be on hand to meet the relief bus when it arrived in Kamloops and would apologize to the passengers, he said.
The impounded bus was towed to Clearwater on Tuesday. At least two people were stranded at the Greyhound stop in Clearwater when the bus did not arrive. The bus usually departs from Jim’s Market at 4:45 a.m. There no longer is daylight bus service to or from Clearwater.
A driver from Wells Gray Taxi later drove them home without charge. A thank you letter to the taxi driver from one of the stranded passengers was published in a later issue of the Times.