‘Devastating’: 11-year-old cyclist dead after school bus crash in eastern Ontario

An 11-year-old boy riding his bike died after a crash with a school bus on Monday, police said, calling it a tragic loss that has shaken a tight-knit eastern Ontario community.

The crash happened near a local elementary school in Clarence-Rockland around 3:30 p.m. Monday. The boy was taken to a hospital where he died, police said.

Const. Sydney Jones called it a “devastating incident”

“The local community, the local school communities are grieving heavily from this,” she said.

Investigators were still piecing together what led to Monday’s crash and no charges had been laid, Jones said in an interview Tuesday morning.

The bus driver was uninjured, and police would not say whether there were children on the bus.

The section of St. Joseph Street near the crash site was closed for about six hours as police investigated.

Jones said there had been an outpouring of messages from community members who wanted to express their condolences and offer support.

“This is a very tragic event and it’s a rare event to happen in such a small community,” she said.