Kitchener students, families shaken after driver dies in school bus crash near London, Ont.

A bus with students from a Kitchener high school on board veered off the road Sunday and crashed into a ditch. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk reports.

A school bus driver from Kitchener, Ont. is dead after a crash on Highway 401 West near London, Ont. Sunday morning.

The bus was carrying students from Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School (KCI) and was on route to Point Pelee National Park for an overnight geography trip.

More than 40 people were on the bus, including Grade 9 student Eadie Hahn.

“I was sitting on the right side which was the side that hit the ground,” said Hahn. “People started falling onto me and glass shattered and went down that way.”

Hahn said she was watching a movie with her friend when the bus started shaking.

“It was almost like I blinked and suddenly we were sideways,” she recalled. “I didn’t feel like I was in my own body, I was not experiencing that in the moment.”

All 42 passengers managed to get out safely and no other vehicles were involved in the crash. Four students were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

An emergency operations centre was set up in London for parents to pick up their children.

Hahn’s parents said they were relieved to hear their daughter was physically unharmed.

“It’s absolutely very scary as a parent to have your kid go through that situation,” said Hahn’s mom, Jane Barkley.

“It really is about the trauma,” she continued. “Imagine being tossed around on a school bus. People are screaming, there’s glass flying, and then ultimately, you were there when someone passed away. There’s a lot to process for a young person.”

Bus driver remembered as “happy-go-lucky” man

At the wheel was 52-year-old Mark Naylor – a veteran bus driver from Kitchener, Ont., remembered by his friends as a happy-go-lucky man who loved his job.

“No matter what happened, his first priority would have been to make sure that the kids were as safe as possible,” said Bobbie-Jo Schnarr, a close friend of Naylor’s.

Schnarr and Jessica Becher met Naylor while training as bus drivers around three years ago. They said they were shocked to hear about his death.

“He at some point touched base in our lives and was a hero when we needed him to be one,” said Becher. “And he was definitely a hero that day, by getting off the road,” Schnarr added.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) West Region said they are still investigating what caused the crash and Naylor’s death.

“We’ll look at every option, every bit of information and evidence that can be gathered and put together,” said OPP Const. Steven Duguay.

A GoFundMe page has been organized for Naylor’s family, with a goal of raising $10,000.

WRDSB responds

In a statement to CTV News, Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) director of education Scott Miller offered his condolences to Naylor and his family.

“The safety and well-being of the KCI students and staff continue to be our top priority,” Miller said, in part.

“The board’s Critical Events Response team will be available to support staff and students as needed in the days ahead,” Miller added.

For Hahn, the next few days will be a challenge.

“I think school will definitely be difficult going there because obviously people are curious as to what happened,” she said. “A lot of questions.”