Police still looking for bus passengers in fatal Westboro crash

Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau is asking everyone on the double-decker that crashed at Westboro station on Friday to reach out to police if they haven't already.

Three people were killed and 23 were injuredwhen a close-to-full Route 269 double-decker bus taking downtown passengers to the western suburb of Kanata crashed into the bus shelter.

"We've got about 80 per cent of the passengers on the bus that have been in touch with us. We are in the process of doing those interviews," Bordeleau said Wednesday while givingan update on the investigation.

"We are asking, again, if you were on the bus and you haven't been in touch with the Ottawa Police Service to please reach out to us for us to get your account of what you saw, what you heard."

OC Transpo said there were up to 90 people on the double-decker, which passengers have described as having been at near capacity at the time of the collision.

Bordeleau said the nature of the incident has complicated documenting everybody who may have been on the bus.

"This isn't a plane so there's no manifest that exists and individuals were taken to the hospital, some of them may have walked home. It's a very chaotic scene that takes place when you have mass casualties like that," Bordeleau said.

In a statement, Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency that operates Presto, said Ottawa police have not contacted it. The company could potentially have data regarding passengers who boarded the bus before the collision.

The company said any information itprovides to authorities would be released in accordance with privacy legislation.

Some may not want to come forward

Controlling the perimeter of the scene is one of the main responsibilities of first responders in a major incidentcasualty event, according to Curtis Farrell, a professor at Algonquin College's Policing and Public Safety Institute.

"That's the biggest challenge when dealing with mass casualty-type events is ... even when you have a really decent responselike we do here in the city, there's still an opportunity for those less-injured individuals to get away," Farrel said.

Farrell, who worked as a paramedic for 24 years, said the focus is ongetting to the people who are in the greatest danger, as well as thosemost seriously injured.

Another challenge will be people who are struggling with what they saw, who may not want to revisit those memories, he said.

"Why would people not come forward? This is the most horrific event someone can be involved in," Farrell said.

However, even if their stories don't diverge from the evidence police have gathered so far, it will help investigators make a more intelligent assessment, he argued.