Kingston Police confirm fatal collision on Bath Road involved motorcycle, coach bus

A collision that shut down a stretch of Bath Road through the night this past weekend claimed the life of a local motorcyclist, Kingston Police have now confirmed.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at approximately 9:45 p.m., a collision occurred on Bath Road just east of Tanner Drive, in front of the Volvo dealership and Zorbas event venue. The collision involved a motorcycle and a coach-style bus, police confirmed in an email to Kingstonist on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The driver of the motorcycle passed away as a result of the collision, police said.

Kingston Police, Kingston Fire & Rescue, and Frontenac Paramedics were all dispatched to the scene of the collision, arriving within 10 minutes and quickly closing off Bath Road between Tanner Drive and Centennial Drive. The coach remained on scene for over two hours, however, none of the passengers on the bus were injured, according to police. Due to “the severity of the collision,” the Kingston Police Traffic Safety Unit reconstructionists were called to the scene, Constable Ash Gutheinz, Media Relations Officer for Kingston Police said.

“A motorcycle, which had been travelling westbound on Bath Road, struck the rear driver’s side of a coach bus, which had been turning eastbound onto Bath Road,” Gutheinz said.

“The driver of the motorcycle, a 54-year-old individual, died as a result of the collision.”

Collision reconstructionists and other officers with Kingston Police remained on the scene for over seven hours, with the roadway reopening just before 5 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

Gutheinz said that the investigation into the collision remains “active and ongoing” at this time.

According to multiple sources, the coach bus had been transporting first-year Queen’s University students back to campus following an orientation event held at Zorbas. Kingston Police would not confirm this detail, and inquiries to Zorbas were not returned by time of publication.

For their part, the Queen’s would not confirm its students were on the coach involved in the collision, however, the university did provide the following statement:

“When the University becomes aware of a traumatic incident, the appropriate staff are alerted to ensure any potentially impacted students or staff are contacted and offered immediate and appropriate supports including access to a variety of counselling options and crisis support as needed.”

The university deferred any further questions regarding the collision to Kingston Police.

While Kingston Police said they would not be identifying the deceased, the individual has been identified by close family and friends as being local resident 54-year-old Joseph Lima.