Bus driver kills 38 speeding away from accident in Haiti

Bus driver kills 38 speeding away from accident in Haiti

A car damaged by the speeding bus lies on the side of the road in Gonaives

A bus driver has killed 38 people after ploughing into pedestrians while trying to speed away from a fatal accident in Haiti.

The incident began when the driver mowed down two pedestrians - killing one.

While trying to speed away he ran over a group of street musicians.

Officials have put the death toll at 38, with another 17 people injured.

Early reports suggested the driver had been taken to a police station - but it later emerged he had fled.

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The collision happened in the Haitian city of Gonaives - about 90 miles outside Port-au-Prince - at 3am on Sunday.

Image: Gonaives, the capital of Artibonite Department in northern Haiti, is 90 miles from Port-au-Prince

Emergency workers took the injured to hospital, while police tried to control an angry crowd at the scene.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the area.

"The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities."

The musicians were taking part in a rara parade, which involves playing traditional instruments and being joined by passers-by.

Haitian roads are dangerous and chaotic, with few rules observed by pedestrians and drivers.</s>Victims of a transit accident receive medical attention after a bus speeding away from the scene of a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in the Haitian city of Gonaives, killing a total of 34 people. Video provided by AFP At least 34 dead in Haitian bus accident Victims of a transit accident receive medical attention after a bus speeding away from the scene of a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in the Haitian city of Gonaives, killing a total of 34 people.

Start the conversation, or Read more at USA Today.</s>GONAIVES: A bus speeding away from a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in northern Haiti on Sunday, killing 38 people, officials said.

Another 13 people were injured in the crash in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the capital Port-au-Prince.

“First, the bus plowed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other,” Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, head of Haiti s civil protection office, told the agencies.

The driver of the Blue Sky bus then rammed into three groups of street musicians as he tried to speed away, leaving a scene of ghastly carnage.

The number of injured was initially 17, but four victims later died at the hospital, the national police in Gonaives said.

Police were forced to control an angry crowd after the grisly incident. Drivers in Haiti who are involved in accidents rarely stop at the scene because they fear attack by local mobs seeking to extract vigilante justice.

“The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside,” said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the department of Artibonite, where Gonaives, the regional capital, is located.

The Blue Sky bus line, a private company offering long-distance routes, is an upscale option for travel in Haiti with modern, air-conditioned coaches.

Most Haitians generally travel on former American school buses which ply the roads, making frequent stops.

Authorities initially said they had detained the bus driver, but he had fled the scene. Police were still trying to identify him.

It’s not known what caused the crash, which occurred on a straight stretch of a national road without any potholes.

On Sunday afternoon a heavily damaged car was seen in a ditch on the side of the road, but the accident scene had otherwise been cleaned up.

In a statement Haitian President Jovenel Moise “expressed his deep sadness following the terrible accident.”

“The head of state conveys, on behalf of the whole government, his sincere condolences to the families and those close to the victims,” the statement read.

Moise called for “an investigation as soon as possible to shed light on this tragedy.”</s>A bus driver speeding away from a fatal accident in Hawaii has led to the deaths of 34 people when the vehicle hit a group of pedestrians. The incident started when the driver of the bus mowed down two people, killing one.

"The bus first hit two pedestrians, leaving one dead and one injured," the director of the Civil Police said.

Director of the Civil Protection Authority, Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, told Agence France Presse that the driver attempted to flee from the scene and while speeding away, hit three bands of Rara musicians, Haiti street performers.

Haiti's National Ambulance Centre said that 11 people died at the scene while another nine people were declared dead after being taken to hospitals in Gros Morne and Gonaives.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the area. "The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities."

After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began throwing rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, said Albert Moulion, the Ministry of the Interior's spokesman, according to the Globe and Mail.

The horrific accident sparked a huge rescue operation attended by firefighters and ambulance crews.

The death toll is currently at 34, with 17 people sustaining injuries, according to Reuters. The accident took place early on Sunday (12 March) at the Haitian city of Gonaives, around 90 miles outside Port-au-Prince.

In the chaos after the accident and hoping to find out more news, relatives of the victims surrounded the hospitals.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. Haiti's roads are notoriously dangerous, with road safety rarely observed by drivers and other users. Hundreds of people are killed or injured every year on the roads which are in poor condition.</s>A bus plowed into people taking part in an early morning street festival in Haiti on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and injuring 17 others, rescue officials said.

The accident occurred at about 3 a.m. in the city of Gonaives when a passenger bus first hit two people at a bus stop and then continued into a crowd of people participating in a Rara festival, an Easter season Haitian musical celebration, said Josepth Faustin, civil defense coordinator for the Artibonito region.

Faustin said angry festival-goers then attacked the bus and tried to burn it before police rescued the passengers aboard. The bus driver fled and was being sought. He said the cause of the accident was unclear.

The injured were being treated at a hospital in Gonaives, about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of the capital.

Reports said the bus was speeding away from the scene of a hit-and-run accident when it plowed into dozens of street musicians in Gonaives.

Fifteen people also were injured in the incident in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people.

“First, the bus plowed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other,” Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, head of Haiti’s civil protection office, told AFP.

The driver then rammed into three groups of street musicians as he tried to speed away, leaving 33 of them dead in a scene of ghastly carnage.

Emergency workers transported the injured to the hospital, while police tried to control an angry crowd.

“The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside, said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the department of Artibonite, where Gonaives, the regional capital, is located.

“The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care” of the local authorities, Joseph said.

In a statement Haitian President Jovenel Moise “expressed his deep sadness following the terrible accident.”

“The head of state conveys, on behalf of the whole government, his sincere condolences to the families and those close to the victims,” the statement read.

Moise called for “an investigation as soon as possible to shine light on this tragedy.”</s>Angry bystanders set the bus ablaze after driver sped away after driving into a band of street musicians.

At least 34 people have been killed and 17 injured when a bus ploughed into a crowd outside the northern Haitian city of Gonaives.

Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, head of Haiti's civil protection office, told AFP news agency on Sunday that first the bus ran over two pedestrians, killing one and injuring the other.

Then the driver rammed into a band of street musicians while trying to speed away, killing 33 others. The incident took place about 150km from the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The vehicle crashed into a "rara" parade. Rara parades are groups of musicians playing traditional instruments who are often joined by passers-by.

Emergency workers transported the injured to a hospital, while police tried to control an angry crowd that attacked the bus.

After the incident, other musicians and people in the parade began hurling rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, said Albert Moulion, the Ministry of the Interior's spokesman.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Faustin Joseph, a coordinator at the civic protection office in the Artibonite region.

"The bus, the passengers, and the driver were all placed into the care" of local authorities, Joseph said.

The bus was travelling from Cap Haitien to Port-au-Prince at the time of the incident.</s>Panama City: A bus ran into a crowd in the city of Gonaives in northern Haiti on Sunday, killing at least 38 people and wounding 17 others, local report in capital Port-au-Prince quoted Haitian rescue officials as saying.

Citing the report, Xinhua said that the accident occurred at about 3 a.m. on Sunday after a bus crashed into a group of people attending a music festival.

The bus was coming from Cap Haitien to Port-au-Prince and the bus driver fled the scene after the accident.</s>At least 38 people were killed and 13 others injured in northern Haiti after a bus plowed into a festival crowd before dawn Sunday, in what local authorities said was a hit and run incident.

The bus, owned by the transportation company Blue Sky Logistics, was carrying people from the northern Haitian city of Cap Haitien to the nation’s capital, Port Au Prince. The bus encountered streets crowded with revelers celebrating Rara, a popular festive season in Haiti that stretches from Mardi Gras until Easter Sunday.

Just outside the city of Gonaives, the bus struck two pedestrians, one of whom died instantly. The bus driver continued on for several miles before encountering a Rara band playing music in the middle of the road. The bus plowed through the first group of musicians, then drove through a second and a third band.

The driver fled the scene on foot and is still at large, police said. Authorities are actively searching for him.

According to one eyewitness, people were still trapped under the bus when it finally stopped. “You could see bodies missing arms, bodies with stomachs out, and a trail of blood on the ground,” a man named Rigorov, who lives in the area, said. “You could hear people crying and calling for help, but I could not make a difference on who is alive and who is not.”</s>The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside. (Photo: Representational Image)

Port-Au-Prince (Haiti): A runaway bus plowed into a crowd of people in the Haitian city of Gonaives early Sunday, killing 34 people and injuring 15 others, officials said.

The accident, in the city some 150 kilometers (90 miles) outside Port-au-Prince.

"First, the bus plowed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other," Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, head of Haiti's civil protection office, told AFP.

The driver then rammed into a band of street musicians as it tried to speed away, leaving 33 of them dead in a scene of ghastly carnage.

Emergency workers transported the injured to the hospital, while police tried to control an angry crowd that gathered at the accident scene.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside, said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the department of Artibonite, where Gonaives, the regional capital, is located.

"The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care" of the local authorities, Joseph said.</s>PORT-AU-PRINCE: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured in northern Haiti late on Saturday after a bus drove into a parade of pedestrians while fleeing from an accident, civil protection authorities said on Sunday.

The bus, which was travelling from Cap Haitien to the capital Port-au-Prince, initially hit two people in a town outside Gonaives in northern Haiti, killing one, said Joseph Faustin, civil protection head in the Artibonite department.

The bus driver then fled and crashed into three "rara" parades in Mapou, about 5 km (3 miles) away, Faustin said.

Rara parades, which usually take place around Easter, are groupings of musicians playing traditional instruments who are often joined by passers-by.

In total, 34 people were killed at the scene and an another four people died in hospital, said Fred Henry, the area's deputy representative, who added that the incident had occurred around 4 a.m.

"Usually the drivers involved in such accidents don't stop because they are afraid they might be killed ," Henry said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.

The driver and passengers on the bus were taken to the police station, said Patrick Cherilus, a Civil Protection spokesman for Artibonite.

They have since been released and the bus driver has fled, said Jean Bazlais Bornelus, the police chief for the area.

After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began hurling rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, said Albert Moulion, the Ministry of the Interior's spokesman.

Haitian roads are dangerous and chaotic, with few rules observed by pedestrians, motorcyclists and drivers.

President Jovenel Moise called for an investigation into the incident.

"The head of state sends ... sincere condolences to the victims' families and loved ones," he added.
A bus driver in the Haitian city of Gonaïves ploughs into crowds of people celebrating Rara while speeding away from an earlier accident which left one person dead, killing at least 38 people, including a group of street musicians, and injures 17 others.