A child’s life lost, answers denied: Family of boy killed by bus in Horseshoe Bay calls for accountability
‘This is not about money. We would trade all the money in the world to bring back our child,’ the 4-year-old’s father said
Last updated 2 days ago
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More than eight months after a bus jumped a curb near the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, killing a four-year-old Vancouver boy and severely injuring his mother, the family says it is still in search of answers and accountability.
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“This is not about money. We would trade all the money in the world to bring back our child,” father Clineu Machado told Postmedia.
“It’s about making sure our son’s life was not taken in vain, and that changes needed to prevent this tragedy from happening again take place.”
Machado’s son, Leonardo, had just met his future classmates and could barely contain his excitement for kindergarten. One afternoon last spring, Leonardo raced across the playground of Marpole’s Sir William Osler Elementary School — just two blocks from home — clutching a new backpack and beaming with joy.
But on May 28, 2025, after he and his mother returned from a day trip to Bowen Island, a bus slammed into them. Leonardo, who was asleep in his stroller, died at the scene. His mother, Silvana de Oliveira Schramm, remains in hospital recovering from her injuries.
De Oliveira Schramm said she is haunted daily by fragmented memories of that day. She was rushing to catch a Route 257 TransLink bus after the excursion with Leonardo and a friend.
She said the driver motioned for them to board. As she began pushing the stroller toward the bus and lifted the stroller’s front wheels, with her friend steadying it from behind, the articulated bus suddenly accelerated, killing Leonardo instantly.
“All I remember is people screaming,” she recalled. “I couldn’t see anything. I was under the bus. I thought, ‘What is happening to me?’ I could never have imagined this.”
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Images from the scene show a stroller on its side beneath the rear of the bus, with two sneakers visible on the pavement. The crash’s impact also knocked over a stop sign, scattering debris across the sidewalk.
“My wife has these moments, waking in the middle of the night, her brain racing with thoughts: ‘Why did I go out that day? Why didn’t I wait for the next bus?’” Machado said.
To date, no investigating agency has offered the family answers as to what contributed to the fatal incident.
The family’s lawyers, Tiago Rodrigues and David A. Joyce of Joyce Law, said the case remains in the fact-finding stage. They have submitted formal requests for investigation reports to TransLink and the West Vancouver Police. The police force — which seized the bus for a mechanical inspection immediately following the incident — continue to withhold details of the investigation.
While the lawyers obtained, through freedom-of-information requests, a Coast Mountain Bus Co. “incident analysis” report from that day, the report’s contents were completely redacted, according to the lawyers. Other reports obtained include the driver’s statement, bus manual and supervisor’s reports, but they too were partly redacted and don’t give a full picture of what happened, they said.
“To date, (freedom of information) disclosures have provided some reports, but do not include a full investigation into the accident. Both requests are currently under review by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C., as well as by TransLink and the West Vancouver police department,” reads a statement from Joyce Law.
“We need that information to understand the cause of the accident and assess the family’s rights accordingly.”
The West Vancouver Police Department, which is responsible for determining whether criminality was involved in the incident, said the complex nature of the investigation has delayed the release of information.
The department said the probe involves its Major Investigation Team, the Lower Mainland Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, B.C.’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch, and the Coroners Service. An early news release said preliminary findings suggested speed was not a contributing factor.
“We understand how challenging it can be for families to be waiting on information and are committed to sharing what we can with them, when we can,” police said in a statement.
The family says that, without more transparency from investigating agencies, they worry a similar catastrophe could occur.
“I’ve gone back to the site to lay down flowers for my son and seen 30 to 40 people waiting for the bus at that corner,” Machado told Postmedia.
Families like Leonardo’s, who in the past might have filed a civil lawsuit claiming negligence, wrongful death, or pain and suffering, are largely barred from doing so since B.C. switched to a no-fault insurance system in 2021.
While ICBC has said its “enhanced-care” system speeds up access to medical treatment and compensation for all those involved in vehicle accidents, Machado says it limits the family’s ability to seek justice and accountability.
“Right now, since no one is guilty, the evidence remains in the dark,” he said. “Only a few know what happened, so we cannot be sure if any changes are being made to prevent it from happening again.”
Under its new no-fault system, ICBC payouts for death or serious injury are fixed minimum amounts, often far less than what could be awarded in a wrongful-death or negligence lawsuit.
The crash, meanwhile, has altered the lives of Leonardo’s parents forever.
Machado and his wife immigrated to Canada from Brazil. Their son was born in 2020.
De Oliveira Schramm has spent the past 10 months in the hospital, including two months unconscious in critical care, undergoing more than 20 surgeries to repair multiple fractures to her lower body, including her pelvis. She relies on a colostomy bag to manage medical complications from her injuries.
She is learning how to stand again, undergoing rehabilitation at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre.
“I have lost my mobility and will never be able to walk properly,” de Oliveira Schramm said through tears.
“But the pain in my heart is far worse — having lost my son and waiting months for any answers. Every delay or lack of cooperation from TransLink or the West Vancouver Police only adds to my suffering. It’s like the bus went through me all over again.”
A GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $190,000 after the crash has been almost entirely spent on funeral and living expenses, including bringing nine relatives to Vancouver to support the family while Machado was off work in the eight months following their son’s death.
The couple was delayed in filing claims with ICBC since Machado’s focus during those early months was on his wife’s survival.
“I was spending the entire day talking to doctors,” he said, adding that his wife’s condition was so critical she nearly died multiple times. “It’s a miracle she’s alive.”
During that time, Machado did not file for employment insurance. He returned to work in January, balancing contract work in architecture by day with a night shift as a pizza chef.
De Oliveira Schramm is expected to be discharged from the hospital in late March. The couple plans to move to a more wheelchair-accessible home. They also cannot bear the thought of returning to a house filled with their son’s toys, clothes and memories.
“How could I possibly see his bed without him?” the mother cried.
In the hospital, de Oliveira Schramm keeps a piano keyboard and a framed photo of her and Leonardo nearby.
“I’m learning how to play because Leonardo can’t. I feel that doing so brings me closer to his heart.”
