Charges seen likely in fatal N.B. crash

SUSSEX, New Brunswick – Families of four Newton, Mass., middle school pupils killed in an April bus accident in New Brunswick are expecting to find out Wednesday whether the bus driver or the tour bus operator will face criminal charges.

Sgt. Dave Brown of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police said the investigation has determined charges are likely in connection with the accident.

The pupils, members of the school marching band, were on their way to a music festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when the bus entered a hairpin turn and swerved off the road.

The pupils who died – Melissa Leung, 14, Greg Chan, 13, Kayla Rosenberg, 13, and Stephen Glidden, 12 – all had been sitting in the left rear of the bus near a window that broke in the crash.

Darrell Mook, lawyer for the 60-year-old driver of the bus, Hin Chin Kan, said he believes the police investigation will show his client was not responsible for the crash.

Witnesses on the bus have said Kan was driving too fast as he approached the intersection. Officials have questioned whether he violated U.S. regulations limiting driving hours. Residents of the area have said the intersection is a safety hazard.

The father of one girl said on Tuesday it makes little difference whether the driver is charged.

“Maybe the guy screwed up and it’s a horribly sad story, but I don’t think there’s a hell of a lot we can do about it,” John Rosenfeld, whose 14-year-old daughter Alexandra was hurt in the accident, told The Canadian Press.

“It won’t make any difference to us if he’s charged. If he goes to jail it would just be another sad episode,” Rosenfeld said.