A Saskatoon couple is thankful to be safe after almost getting hit by a city bus on Saturday morning.
“It was a very scary moment,” driver Anita Bottyan told CTV News.
On Saturday morning, Bottyan and her husband were leaving Centre Mall heading towards JYSK.
Bottyan’s dashcam footage shows a green light ahead, as the SUV approaches the intersection, a Saskatoon Access Transit bus crosses directly in front of the vehicle in the westbound lane of the 8th Street East intersection, appearing to run a red light.
“I was screaming when I saw the bus,” Bottyan said.
“I slammed on my brakes, and thankfully I could stop before I actually hit the other vehicle.”
From the dashcam video, the opposing traffic light isn’t visible, but the vehicles in the eastbound lanes of 8th Street are at a complete stop.
Bottyan’s husband, Zsolt Madar, sitting in the passenger seat, estimates the bus was an inch away from their SUV.
Saskatoon Transit is investigating the situation.
“The goal is a root cause analysis to determine what corrective actions should be placed to prevent it from occurring again,” Mike Moellenbeck, director of Saskatoon Transit, told CTV News in an email.
Shaken by the close call, the couple pulled into the JYSK parking lot to catch their breath.
“I was just shocked how a professional driver, like a Saskatoon Access Transit bus driver, just goes through the red,” Bottyan said.
She posted the dashcam footage on Facebook.
“I wanted to warn people, you have to look both ways — even on a green light — because you never know when somebody is going to go through the red,” Bottyan said.
