Bus driver sentenced for highway crash

A Hanover School Division (HSD) bus driver who turned into oncoming traffic on Highway 12 with a busload of students did not have his license suspended by a sympathetic judge.

John Nickel, 77, received a $1,000 fine after pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act.

“We all make mistakes. It’s really too bad when a mistake results in so many people being upset, the children being upset and worried, and all these consequences to you,” said Judge Herbert Lawrence Allen in Steinbach court April 4.

Videos from cameras inside the school bus shown in court gave views looking in and outside the bus.

It showed Nickel following a large truck southbound on Highway 12 just south of Steinbach at about 4:20 p.m. on May 6, 2024. The truck made it hard to see very far down the highway.

Nickel slowed down as he approached Provincial Road 303 to make a left turn towards Friedensfeld. Seven oncoming vehicles drove by as he was slowing down. But Nickel did not come to a stop when he turned, driving into the driver side of a black sedan coming northbound. The car was clearly visible in the video just before Nickel made his turn.

The driver of the sedan slammed on his brakes when he saw Nickel turning into him, avoiding serious injury and leaving him with just bruising. The computer inside his car showed him abruptly slowing from 100 km/h to 30 km/h in seconds. The speed limit at the intersection is 100 km/h.

Video of the 24 students inside the bus showed them getting jostled with several exclaiming “oh” and “ow,” with no serious injuries to the shocked students aged five to 18 years old.

A large gathering of family and friends came to court to support Nickel. A stack of letters of support resembling a small book was handed in as evidence of how beloved the veteran bus driver is in the community. The judge said it included letters from kids, parents, and even mechanics.

Court heard Nickel is known for his end of year barbecues he holds for the kids on his bus, out of pocket. Several parents wrote in, with one describing him as like a grandfather to their child. Another described how Nickel called them to let them know their child was doing much better after crying while getting on the bus for the first time.

Nickel had a clean driver’s abstract until this crash. The Steinbach man drove a school bus for 20 years.

“How is that possible?” asked a surprised Judge Allen.

While the judge said a professional driver hired to care for children must be more cautious while driving, he saw Nickel’s careless driving as on the lower end of the driving offence and called him a good driver.

“I don’t think this would be made such a big deal if it wasn’t a school bus and there’s little kids in the school bus,” said Judge Allen.

Nickel has not driven a school bus since the crash. His license was automatically suspended by Manitoba Public Insurance for three months and HSD had to let him go.