Three killed in 2020 Jasper glacier bus rollover due to catastrophic brake failure, inquiry finds

Worn, improperly inspected brakes caused an Ice Explorer bus to roll down a 50-metre embankment at Athabasca Glacier on July 18, 2020, killing three tourists, an Alberta Court of Justice fatality inquiry concluded this week.

Justice Vaughn Myers found the brakes "suffered a catastrophic failure because they were worn, improperly inspected and concerns with respect to the brakes functioning were not attended to." The bus, carrying 24 tourists, tumbled down the slope near 50 kilometres per hour — far exceeding the Ice Explorer's maximum speed of 14 kilometres per hour — before landing on its roof. Three passengers were ejected and died of their injuries within minutes: Dionne Durocher, 24, of North Battleford, Saskatchewan; Kamleshbhai Patel, 58, of Edmonton; and Griva Patel, 28, also of Edmonton. Fourteen others were seriously injured.

Myers identified two primary contributing factors: the driver had negotiated a lateral moraine in neutral without six-wheel drive engaged, and when the driver applied brakes, the air-brake system failed. The embankment itself presented a secondary hazard — at a 40 per cent grade, it exceeded the manufacturer's maximum specification of 36 per cent. The bus also lacked seatbelts, which allowed victims to be thrown from the vehicle during the rollover.

The driver had earlier complained the vehicle was not stopping quickly enough. Tour operator Pursuit (also known as Brewster) conducted its own investigation following the crash. The company has since added seatbelts to its buses and made changes to driver training.

Myers made two formal recommendations: that future inspection reports be dated and identify the specific work done during inspections. A fatality inquiry cannot assign legal blame but exists to prevent similar deaths.