A busy afternoon in downtown London turned dramatic when a marked police cruiser collided with a city bus, sending three people to hospital and shutting down one of the city’s main arteries.
The collision went down around 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday at Queens Avenue and Talbot Street—basically right in the thick of everything downtown. The London Police Service confirmed that one of their marked vehicles was involved in the crash with a transit bus, though details about what led to the collision remain under wraps.
Three people ended up needing medical attention after the impact. The bus driver and two passengers sustained what police are calling minor injuries, but one passenger got the worst of it with serious injuries that thankfully aren’t life-threatening. All three were rushed to hospital by paramedics.
The police officer driving the cruiser managed to walk away without any physical injuries—definitely a lucky break considering the circumstances.
Here’s where things get interesting: because this involved a police vehicle and someone got seriously hurt, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has swooped in to take over the whole thing. The SIU is basically the watchdog that investigates whenever police are involved in incidents that result in serious injury, death, or allegations of sexual assault.
Once the SIU invokes their mandate, local police basically have to zip it and can’t comment on what happened. Anyone wanting details about the investigation now has to go directly to the SIU at 416-622-0748 or 1-800-787-8529.
The aftermath of the collision meant Queens Avenue between Talbot and Ridout streets got completely shut down, and police were telling everyone to avoid the area and find alternate routes. That closure hit right during what would normally be busy commute hours, affecting one of London’s major east-west corridors that cuts straight through the downtown core.
The official police release gives the basic rundown of what happened, but don’t expect any juicy details about what actually caused the crash or updates on how the injured passengers are doing—that’s all SIU territory now.
Queens Avenue and Talbot is definitely one of those intersections where there’s always something happening. You’ve got heavy foot traffic, multiple bus routes crisscrossing through the area, and plenty of vehicles trying to navigate through downtown during peak hours. It’s the kind of spot where transit and emergency services are constantly sharing the same busy space.
Police haven’t given any timeline for when Queens Avenue might reopen, just saying they’ll provide more information “as appropriate.” With the SIU now running the show, that information is going to be pretty limited until their investigation wraps up.