Two university students in the "prime of their lives" and a mother of two who "loved life to the fullest" were among the six people killed in Wednesday's crash between an Ottawa transit bus and a Via Rail train.

Ottawa Police identified all of the victims Thursday:

  • Michael Bleakney, 57
  • Connor Boyd, 21
  • Karen Krzyzewski, 53
  • Kyle Nash, 21
  • Rob More, 35
  • Dave Woodard, 45

All are residents of Ottawa.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, their friends and families," police said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

"We are asking the media to respect the families, in their time of grieving."

The six victims died Wednesday when an OC Transpo bus collided with a Via Rail passenger train at a level rail crossing in southwest Ottawa shortly before 9 a.m.

Kyle Nash and Connor Boyd were students at Carleton University and knew each other.

"Connor was a fantastic, enthusiastic, well-spoken individual whose laugh lit up the room every time he came in," said his friend Rick Larabie. "The amount of people who have been affected by his passing is incredible."

Another friend, Kayla Bennett, said "everyone knew him for his laugh."

Boyd's mother was among those who attended a vigil Wednesday night at the site of the crash. On Thursday, the Boyd family released a statement saying they are "devastated by the loss of our son, Connor."

"He was so amazing and we are so proud of who he was. We are comforted to know he knew we loved him and we were proud of him."

Nash's father, Richard, told CTV News in an email that the family is "utterly devastated by Kyle's tragic and premature death."

Nash wrote that he and his wife learned of the crash when listening to the radio Wednesday morning.

"We began a day long search for Kyle that ended when we received the horrendous news at about 7 p.m," he said. "(Kyle) was deeply, deeply loved."

Carleton president and vice-chancellor Roseann O'Reilly Runte said in a statement that "the loss of such young people, who were in the prime of their lives, will touch us in many ways."

"On behalf of the students, faculty, staff and alumni of Carleton University, I wish to offer our deepest sympathies to the families of Carleton students Connor Boyd and Kyle Nash to all of their friends and classmates," she said.

Flags at the university are flying at half-mast, and condolence books will be in the school's Tory Lobby beginning at 9 a.m. Friday. A memorial service is also being planned.

Krzyzewski's family issued a statement Thursday, saying she was the mother of two young adult children who worked at Library and Archives Canada for 28 years.

"We are very saddened by the loss of Karen," the statement read. "She was a gentle spirit who was caring and compassionate to others. She loved life to the fullest."

Acting Librarian and Archivist of Canada Herve Dery called Krzyzewski "a dedicated, knowledgeable and experienced employee who will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues at the institution."

On Wednesday, police identified Woodard as the driver of the bus. Colleagues described him as a devoted husband and father who had a good driving record.

Woodard's widow, Terry, is defending him as a good driver and said he should not be blamed for the accident.

"And I just want to say, my sympathies to the other families and please don't blame him. Something must have gone wrong because there's no way he would have just driven through. His main job was to make sure that his passengers were safe."

Five people who were on board the OC Transpo bus were pronounced dead at the scene and another later died in hospital. Thirty-four people were transported to Ottawa-area hospitals.

Eleven of the injured were sent to The Ottawa Hospital. Hospital spokesperson Hazel Harding said their injuries ranged from minor to critical. All of the patients from the collision have been discharged except for one, who is reported to be in stable condition after undergoing an eight-hour operation.

Nine patients were taken to Queensway Carlton Hospital, where three remain after having surgery.

Witnesses, survivors describe deadly crash

Bus passengers who survived the crash described people yelling at the driver to slow down seconds before the impact, but it was too late. Witnesses said the level railway crossing's warning lights were flashing and the gate was down when the crash occurred at 8:48 a.m. ET, near the intersection of Woodroffe Avenue and Fallowfield Road.

The front of the OC Transpo bus was sheared off in the collision.

Ajoy Bista, who was sitting on the upper deck of the bus, describes seeing the collision happen "frame by frame."

"It seemed like it was a movie," Bista told Canada AM. "The bus kept on speeding and then when the bus didn't stop… people were shouting 'stop, stop.'"

Bista described seeing debris "flying everywhere" followed by chaos.

"I could hear people crying, screaming," he said. "There were dead bodies, limbs. I can't even describe it in words."

It is not known how many people were on board at the time of the crash, but the double-decker bus can carry an approximately 90 passengers. Several passengers who take the bus regularly said the driver appeared to be new to the route.

The impact derailed the Via Rail locomotive and one passenger car, but no injuries were reported on board the Train 51 headed from Montreal to Toronto.