Female pedestrian, 27, killed after tour bus hits her at downtown crosswalk

A 27-year-old woman was struck and killed by a tour bus in downtown Victoria Monday as she crossed Douglas Street in a crosswalk. Passersby watched as paramedics tried in vain to save the woman’s life.The woman, whose name was not released, was hit when the driver of a Horizon Coach Line bus with four passengers on board turned left off Humboldt Street around 10 a.m. Police say the 44-year-old driver pulled over immediately and is co-operating with them as they continue their investigation. The bus has been seized and will be given a full inspection.  “It looks like [the victim] was crossing on a walk signal — that’s what the witness accounts state,” police spokesman Const. Mike Russell said. “Of course, we’re very early in the investigation so we want to make sure we cover all the bases, but that is what they say so far.”The driver of another bus that was also at the intersection is a key witness, Russell said. Horizon’s division manager, Glen Christie, said the company will not comment until police complete their investigation. “We need to be provided with more information after the investigation,” he said. “Right now, we’re just thinking of friends and family of the person involved in the accident.”The woman had been living in Victoria, but her family lives out of the country, said police, who were still trying to notify them as of Monday evening.Jack Bergin witnessed the aftermath of the accident from Bartholomew’s English-Style Pub, where he tends bar. By the time he ran out to see what happened, the bus had pulled over to the side of the street.“That’s a tight corner, that’s happened there before,” Bergin said. On Feb. 18, 1999, a newlywed Saskatoon couple was hit by a tour bus at the same intersection. Michael Misanchuk, 27, was killed and his wife Samantha, 29, was seriously injured.“The circumstances seem to be different,” Russell said of the 1999 incident. “It was rainy, at night, it was a hit-and-run. It’s tough to draw any similarities between the two right now.”The couple had been crossing Douglas Street on a dark, rainy night when they were hit by a left-turning bus driven by Herman Plet Willemse, 64, of Langley. Willemse pleaded guilty in November 1999 to a hit-and-run charge.Crash analysts continued their investigation at the intersection Monday afternoon. Police ask anyone with information about the fatality to contact them at 250-995-7654. It was the second traffic fatality of 2012 in Victoria and Esquimalt. A 30-year-old Esquimalt man died Feb. 26 after a collision in the 800-block of Rockheights Avenue. [email protected]