Viral photo shows ‘minor’ accident, police say -- UPDATED

A Facebook photo that has gone viral in Greater Sudbury shows what appears to be the aftermath of a collision involving a pedestrian and a Greater Sudbury Transit bus. 

The photo was taken June 30 by Justin Castonguay, who was sitting inside the bus. The photo shows a transit driver crouched over a red-haired woman, who is lying on the ground, with her back to the camera. The driver is talking on a cellphone, and a few other onlookers are also staring at the woman. What appears to be a security guard can also be seen. 

The pic was taken as the bus was turning left from Young Street onto Cedar Street, in front of the Tim Hortons next to the downtown Sudbury Transit bus station. Castonguay posted the iPhone pic to his Facebook page as he was sitting the bus, and it immediately elicited a strong reaction, he said. 

“I put it on there, and every started sharing it,” Castonguay said. “I’m always taking photos like that. I just wish I was getting paid.” 

The photo has been shared more than 50 times on Facebook, eliciting dozens of comments, many of which wonder why the incident hasn’t been reported in the local media.  

“I never seen anything in the news about this,” writes one poster. “Why?”  

Castonguay said he was riding the Copper Cliff-Gatchell bus, heading to the downtown transit terminal so he could transfer to another bus and head to New Sudbury. The accident happened around 3 p.m. He assumed that the incident would make the local news, especially since it involved a transit bus hitting a woman in broad daylight in downtown Sudbury. However, police didn’t issue a press release about the incident, and local media only heard about it as the photo gained popularity on social media. 

“If I had run someone over, it would be all over the news,” Castonguay said. 

However, Greater Sudbury Police said July 16 that while the photo may have gone viral, the accident itself was a minor incident that didn’t lead to any charges. Sgt. Eric Sanderson, of the police’s traffic unit, said that he has fielded several media calls about the incident, even though it happened more than two weeks ago. 

“This is not much of a story,” Sanderson said. “I’ve got much more important things I’m dealing with,” he said, citing problems with stunt drivers and other incidents he says are bigger issues than a minor collision. 

He said the woman involved, who is 55, scraped her arm and was shaken up, but otherwise was uninjured. While he couldn’t say exactly who was at fault, he said no charges were laid as a result of the accident. 

“I understand that it’s big on social media, and that’s why you’re calling, but there’s not much here,” he said. 

Posted by Mark Gentili