January 2024: SBF Accident Report Roundup

As students return to the classroom to kick off the second half of the 2023-24 school year, several accidents involving school buses have made headlines, including:

• Massachusetts woman faces drunk driving charge after striking student getting off school bus.
• Wisconsin student injured when school bus, car collide.
• School bus with students onboard hits North Carolina home.

Massachusetts Woman Faces Drunk Driving Charge After Striking Student Getting Off School Bus

A woman is facing charges after authorities said she hit a student unloading a school bus in Haverhill (Mass.) at an intersection on Jan. 4. The 9-year-old child was critically injured in the crash and was airlifted to an area hospital.

A judge ordered Tiffany Zembower be held on $25,000 bail at her arraignment in Haverhill District Court the following day, according to NBC 10 Boston. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf. Footage from inside the school bus showed the bus driver honking the horn to warn the pickup truck.

Prosecutors said witnesses believed Zembower was traveling at about 40-50 mph and did not slow for the stopped bus.

The bus had its mechanical stop sign deployed and its red warning lights on, according to the police report. Witnesses described the child being thrown at least six feet in the air.

In a letter to families and staff, Haverhill Public Schools said the student attends Pentucket Lake Elementary School.

Family members of the victim, who identified him as Yonis Rodriguez, said he has severe trauma to his head, internal bleeding, and several broken bones.

According to WCVB, Zembower is charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, operating under the influence of liquor with negligent operation and serious injury, failure to stop for a school bus, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, second offense.

Prosecutors said Zembower's license was suspended and that she had more than a dozen tickets for speeding and failure to stop or yield. Police said she was convicted of an operating under the influence charge in New Hampshire in August 2022.

Among the conditions of Zembower's release are that she not drive and not drink; she will wear an alcohol monitoring device.

Wisconsin Student Injured When School Bus, Car Collide

Milwaukee (Wis.) Police are investigating a crash that injured a student during the morning route on Jan. 8. Authorities said that the bus was making a left turn when it was struck by a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed.

According to Milwaukee Fox6 News, the child was transported to a hospital with non-fatal injuries.

The driver of the car, a 31-year-old, was extricated from the vehicle and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The crash investigation is ongoing.

School Bus with Students Onboard Hits North Carolina Home

A school bus carrying eight students ran into an Alamance County (N.C.) home after its driver had a medical episode behind the wheel. The crash happened on Jan. 5 during the morning route.

The Alamance-Burlington School System reported to WGHP that when the driver had a medical episode, the bus ran off the road, side-swiped the front porch of a home, and came to a rest in the front yard.

The school district said that the bus was an exceptional children's bus and that in addition to the students, an assistant and driver were onboard. Both the assistant and driver were taken to the hospital.

None of the students were injured and they were taken to school or picked up by family members at the scene.