A London Transit bus sits lodged into the side of the North London Neighbourhood Pet Clinic on Oxford Street.
London police are pegging damage at $610,000 after a London Transit Comission (LTC) bus crashed into the side of a veterinary clinic on Waterloo Street, late Tuesday night.
Police say the crash came in the aftermath of a prior collision, that took place at the nearby intersection of Oxford and Waterloo Streets around 11:45 p.m.
While the bus was travelling eastbound through the intersection, a silver Volkswagen Jetta ran a red light and struck the moving bus. The collision caused the bus to swerve off the road and crash into the pet clinic.
Police say the driver of the Jetta then exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. The bus driver was transported to hospital with minor injuries, but no other people, or pets, were hurt during the crash.
City staff are on sight assessing damage after an LTC bus crashed into the side of the North London Neighbourhood Pet Clinic at the corner of Oxford and Wellington. The crash took place just after midnight #LdnOnt pic.twitter.com/Ao8R47dmyE
— XFM News (@XFMNews) October 31, 2018
The clinic’s business director Brent Barr said he first heard of the commotion around 11:51 p.m.
“My alarm company had called me to let me know that we had had a glass break, a door break and a motion sensor in the front area,” said Barr, adding that he assumed the clinic had been robbed.
While travelling to the clinic to asses the damage, Barr then received a call from police.
“They said, ‘we’re not on scene for the robbery… we’re on scene because you’ve had a bus run into your building’,”.
It took more than 12 hours until the bus was finally removed from the side of the clinic. Barr tells XFM News this was done in order ensure the building’s structural integrity wasn’t compromised.
“It looked like the metal beams in the ceiling were actually resting on the bus,” said Barr.
“If we pulled it out, we were unsure if that meant the roof would come down.”
It’s not everyday that businesses have vehicles crash into the side of their building, but Barr says a similar incident happened earlier this month.
“We had a small car run into our building two weeks ago… it [caused] $30,000 worth of damage, and that was a fraction of what this is,” said Barr.
The clinic’s business director adds that he remains optimistic that this business “will get through this”, adding that what matters most is that no one was seriously hurt during the crash.
Searching for a suspect
Police are referring to the collision at the intersection for Oxford and Waterloo streets as a hit and run.
Prior to the crash between the bus and the Jetta, police say an officer observed the Jetta driving on the wrong side of the road, just south of Oxford and Waterloo streets.
As the officer attempted to stop the Jetta, the driver turned off the vehicle’s headlights and continued driving towards the intersection where they would later collide with the ill-fated bus.
No description has been provided for the driver, but anyone with relevant information is urged to contact the London Police Service Traffic Management Unit at (519) 661-5680 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
