Two die in crash near Woodstock

An OPP officer and school bus driver perish in accident northwest of the city, according to police

An Ontario Provincial Police officer and a school bus driver died in a crash northwest of Woodstock, Ont., on Monday.

Provincial police said there were no students on board the bus and there were no passengers in the officer’s unmarked vehicle at the time of the crash, which took place before 7 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 59 and Oxford County Road 33.

Police said 35-year-old Det.Const. Steven Tourangeau, who was with the Perth County OPP detachment, died in the crash.

OPP said they were not releasing the identity of the school bus driver “out of respect for the family’s privacy.”

In a news release, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said the force is “deeply saddened over this tragic incident, as two families mourn the loss of their loved ones.”

“I offer my deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues affected,” he said.

Police in London, Ont., will be investigating the crash.

OPP said they could not provide any more information while the investigation is ongoing.

Police services and associations all across the province of Ontario expressed their condolences to the families of Tourangeau and the school bus driver.

Tourangeau’s death comes less than three weeks after an OPP officer was killed while responding to a disturbance call in Bourget, Ont.