The Jasper icefields bus crash, July 18, 2020. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

By David Opinko

Operator in fatal Jasper icefield crash charged

May 13, 2022 | 3:32 PM

JASPER, AB — The tour bus operator involved in a fatal rollover in the Columbia Icefield has been charged with eight counts under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

On July 18, 2020, an ice explorer vehicle carrying 25 people left a road and rolled down an embankment on the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park.

The rollover resulted in the deaths of three people and injuries to 14 others.

RCMP confirmed that a 28-year-old woman from Edmonton, a 24-year-old woman from Canoe Narrows, Saskatchewan, and a 58-year-old woman from India died in the incident.

The charges laid against Brewster Inc. include four counts of failure to ensure the health and safety of a passenger, two counts of failure to ensure the health and safety of a worker, one count of failure to ensure equipment used at a worksite would safely perform its intended function, and one count of failure to ensure that equipment used at a worksite was free from obvious defects.

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The matter is scheduled to appear in Jasper Provincial Court on June 23, 2022.

As the matter is now before the courts, RCMP will not be providing any additional information.

READ MORE: Three killed, others critically injured in bus rollover on Columbia Icefields

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