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SAINTE-ROSE-DE-WATFORD, QUÉBEC — A child is dead, and 17 others were injured after a school bus carrying local children overturned Saturday morning in southeastern Quebec.
Provincial police said four people sustained serious injuries, including the bus driver, but none of the injuries were immediately life-threatening. Another 13 sustained minor injuries, police said.
The bus was carrying cadets, according to Samuel Poulin, the minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region.
Élyse Fortin Turgeon, a local resident who witnessed the crash, described the scene as “a horrible ordeal.” She said she was sitting at her kitchen table when she saw the bus flip and roll down the hill, hitting a large post near her neighbour’s property.
“I saw several kids being thrown out of the bus. I grabbed my phone and called 911 immediately,” she said.
She added that some of them were trying to help others trapped near the bus, and she said she had to intervene.“
I told them to stop; it could make things worse. We had to wait for the professionals.”
She said that some of the kids who were less seriously injured helped the others stand up, while she guided them to her heated garage.
She described the chaos and freezing conditions as ambulances and police arrived.
“The kids were so courageous. Despite the panic, the screams, and the cries, they reassured each other. They really handled it well,” she said, noting she provided blankets and coats to keep the victims warm until emergency services could take over.
Frédéric Deshaies, a spokesperson for Quebec provincial police, said the bus was travelling south on a local road in Sainte-Rose-de-Watford when it slipped to the left before tipping over, possibly due to difficult road conditions. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Fortin Turgeon said the weather conditions were bad.
“It was freezing, the kids were wet and shivering. I brought blankets, coats, even some of my own bedding to warm them up while waiting for the ambulances,” she said.
Premier François Legault responded on X to express his support for the young cadets and the community of Sainte-Rose-de-Watford.
“I am wholeheartedly with the loved ones of the young victim who died today in the overturning of a school bus in Chaudière-Appalaches,” he wrote.
Autobus Auger, which owns the bus involved in the accident, expressed condolences in a Facebook post.
“We are in shock and wish to extend our sincerest condolences to the family of the victim,” wrote Autobus Auger president Sylvain Auger. “Our thoughts are with these young people, their families, and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Sainte-Rose-de-Watford is a small community of just over 700 people, 35 kilometres from Saint-Georges, near the U.S. border.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2026.
The Canadian Press
