With reports from the south, East Coast and Midwest, more people are affected by accidents involving the big yellow bus.
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4 min to read
Death in Mississippi
An 8-year-old was struck by a school bus on Oct. 2 in Mississippi and later died from injuries sustained from the accident. Jeanelle Fredericks was treated by first responders on the scene and taken to University of Mississippi Medical Center. A WSAZ article said that others saw a bike under the bus.
Collision Causes Death in Indiana
A Crown Point, Ind., accident killed one woman driving an SUV Friday. A school bus traveling on the same road struck her head-on. WGN9 reported that the bus veered off road, striking a nearby mailbox. The driver overcorrected and ended up in oncoming traffic. Lisa Smith was sent to Chicago in critical condition and died there. The bus driver and one monitor were the only ones onboard the school bus at the time.
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One Dead, Two Injured in Louisiana
A Louisiana school bus collided with an SUV on Friday, killing Melody Burnitt, the driver of the other vehicle. According to a KTAL story, the bus was stopped with its signs and warning lights on. The driver struck the rear-end of the bus. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and one passenger sustained non-life threatening injuries. There were 31 students on board the bus; one received minor injuries. The crash is still under investigation.
Injury in Connecticut
On Oct. 3, a 6-year-old boy in Connecticut was injured while crossing the street after getting off the school bus, WFSB reported. He was treated at both Saint Mary’s Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. He is in stable condition.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy who was involved in the incident yesterday,” Durham School Services said. “We are investigating the accident and will continue to cooperate fully with local authorities. At this time, we are unable to share any information about our driver.”
In Troup County, Ga., a school bus collided with a pickup and turned on its side on Oct. 3. Nine special needs children were onboard. Three individuals were airlifted to nearby hospitals: the pickup driver, a bus monitor and one student. Other students received minor injuries. A FOX5 Atlanta story said the accident was caused the pickup driver failing to yield at a stop sign. We do not yet know the conditions of the people involved, and the crash is still under investigation.
Blown Tire Causes Fire in Kansas: 33 Escape
Meanwhile in Prescott, Kan., a Fort Scott Middle School l bus caught fire while out on a field trip. One of the tires blew, causing the fire that spread throughout the bus. All 33 aboard the bus managed to escape safely without injury.
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The Kansas school district wrote on Facebook: “We are thankful for the safe return of all of our students from the bus incident this afternoon. All students are now home safe and sound. The bus had a flat tire on one of the duals which then started smoking . The bus was pulled over when it started smoking and the kids were evacuated from the bus. The bus then caught flames and is now a total loss. We want to commend our bus driver as well as our school staff who was on the bus and helped make sure all of the kids got off safely and were taken care of. We also want to thank the Linn County EMS, the Highway Patrol, and the people at the Prescott convenience store for helping to ensure the safety of our kids.”
Virginia Beach Crash
Another crash this week at an intersection in Virginia Beach resulted in nothing but a bit of snarled traffic and minor damage to the bus. Four were onboard but no one was injured.
Tragedy in Thailand: 23 Dead
While outside of SBF’s typical coverage area, we’d be remiss to not mention the tragic accident in Bangkok, Thailand, where a school bus caught fire. Twenty children and three teachers died in the accident, according to the BBC. It appears to have been caused by a failure of safety features, sparked when the bus collided with a concrete barrier and ignited. The bus reportedly had extra gas cylinders installed and had been retrofitted multiple times. The government is calling for an inspection of all CNG buses.
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