Bus goes into ditch after hitting parked truck in Manitoba Interlake

A charter bus carrying passengers to Winnipeg from Thompson, Man., went off the road early Wednesday morning after clipping a pickup truck parked on Highway 6, RCMP say.

Mounties were called by the driver of the NCN Thompson Bus and Freight charter around 3:20 a.m., letting them know he'd gone into the ditch about 50 kilometres south of Grand Rapids, Man.

The driver and the 21 passengers on the bus weren't injured, but the truck driver was sent to a hospital with injuries, RCMP said. An update on his condition wasn't available.

Police are working to determine where the truck was parked, they said.

NCN Thompson owner Sid Varma said the driver told him the truck was parked in the middle of the road with its lights off.

"We can't forecast anything on the road in front of the bus," Varma said.

The driver followed protocol, which says if there's a crash, the driver is to call 911, or if that's not possible, contact dispatch on the radio so the dispatcher can call emergency services, Varma said.

This is the first NCN Thompson bus to crash this year, he said.

Under transportation regulations, the bus couldn't continue its journey after the crash, so a school bus from Grand Rapids took the passengers to the town hall in the community about 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg. They waited there until another charter bus picked them up and continued the journey.

The bus that went into the ditch is being towed to Winnipeg.

RCMP are investigating whether any Highway Traffic Act or Criminal Code charges may be warranted against the driver of the pickup truck, a spokesperson said.