CLINTON, N.C. — A Sampson County (N.C.) school bus driver was injured in a collision with an 18-wheeler on May 10. Kimberly Smith, 28, was airlifted to Duke University Medical Center after she allegedly pulled into the path of a tractor-trailer around 4:30 p.m. William Barnhill, 13, a student at Hobbton Middle School, was onboard the bus at the time and suffered minor injuries.

"According to my information, the bus was coming to a stop sign, made a stop, did not see the oncoming vehicle and pulled out," said Leslie Dudley, transportation director for Sampson County Schools. He noted that he had not yet received the official highway patrol report on the accident as of May 16.

The truck driver said he was driving at about 55 mph, Dudley recounts. "He saw the bus stop, he said, for a couple seconds, then it took off and there was no place for him to go and he started braking. He estimated he hit the bus at maybe 45 mph."

The truck hit the bus, rolling it onto its side. The accident took place near the end of the bus route, with Barnhill the last student remaining. A state trooper at the scene said both the 2001 model bus and the tractor-trailer are a total loss.

Smith, a substitute bus driver for Sampson County, was treated for minor injuries, and the truck driver sustained only minor bruising and soreness. "We were really blessed that there was only one student [onboard] and he was up behind the driver," Dudley said. "In the impact area, where [the bus] rolled over and hit the telephone pole, it pushed in the sides and there could have been fatalities there."

The final accident report was to be available Wednesday. Then Dudley will complete a report for the Sampson County Schools transportation department including a statement from the bus driver, he said.