School buses are generally among the safest vehicles on the road, but occasionally mishaps do happen. Here are some of the stories of how things go wrong:
School Bus Safety Facts:
1. 17,000 injuries serious enough to require hospital treatment are suffered by childdren on school busses each year. (Time Magazine, November 20,
2006)
2. Around 23 million children ride school busses each year, as of February 2015, only 6 states require school busses to have seat belts.
School Bus Does A Flip
In Durango, Colorado, a school bus that was transporting 44 children did a complete roll over on Tuesday, November 17, 2015. Amazingly, only ten children suffered minor injuries … it could have been a whole lot worse.
School Bus Rolls Over in Kansas
In Hiawatha, Kansas, in the northeaster part of the state, a school bus rolled over while carrying around 20 students. Several kids were reported to be injured.
Head on Collision With School Bus
In Lawrence County, Mississippi, a Toyota traveling northbound on Highway 27 collided with a school bus that was carrying 27 passengers.
School Buses Caught in Flood Water
A school district in Helotes, Texas, was forced to review it’s safety procedures recently after 3 of it’s school buses were caught in flash flooding, forcing the evacuation of around 20 students.
School Bus Fire
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a tour bus that was carrying middle school students from Kentucky caught fire while driving down Interstate 70. (April 23, 2015)
Fatal school Bus Crash
In Rochester, New York, a bus driver was killed & several students injured when two school busses collided On Rochester’s northeast side. It’s suspected the crash may have been the result of a medical issue involving one of the drivers, possibly a heart attack. (Jan. 7, 2015)
High School Student Hit While Waiting for Bus
In Methuen, Massachusetts, a high school student was struck and severely injured by a pick-up truck while waiting for his school bus. The driver fled the scene. (Dec 16, 2014)
School Bus Runs Over Child
In Gillette, Wyoming, a school bus that was taking children to Pronghorn Elementary school struck and killed a 6-year-old kindergarten student. No charges had been filed and police were still investigating the incident. (USA Today, 2-11-2009, p. 9A)
Child Hit After Getting Off School Bus
In Laurel, Mississippi, Andy and Lori Key were calling for tougher legislation after their 5-year-old boy, Nathan Key, was struck and killed by another vehicle after getting off his school bus. Nathan, a kindergartner at North Jones Elementary School, was hit Dec. 11 as he crossed the road. (USA Today, 12-8-2009, p. 6A)
Bus Crash Kills Girl
In Billings, Montana, the Huntley Project School District awarded a $946,000 settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit of a girl killed in a school bus crash. Seven-year-old Sarah Fark died in 2008 when the bus she was riding in pulled out in front of an oncoming pickup. (USA Today, 2-12-2009, p. 7A)
Minivan Hits School Bus
In the small town of Cottonwood, Minnesota, four students, all less than 13-years-old, died when a minivan sped through a stop sign and struck their bus on Feb. 19, 2008. Fourteen other kids were injured. All were students at the Lakeview School. (USA Today, 1-20-2009, p. 8A)
Flaming School Buses
In 2008, students on a North Carolina school bus endured a scary experience when the school bus they were in suddenly burst into flames. Thankfully, all the kids inside were able to get out safely. (Fox News, 4-15-2008)
In a separate incident in California, a school bus that was ferrying 8- and 9-year-olds to a field trip at the California Science Center stalled on U.S. Highway 101 and then erupted in flames. Motorists jumped from vehicles to open doors and help the 23 third graders from Flory Academy in Moor Park escape safely. Two children complained of minor smoke inhalation, according to Fire dept. spokesman Eri Scott, but they were otherwise okay. (USA Today, 5-20-2008, p. 3A)
Drunk School Bus Drivers
In Fargo, North Dakota, a school bus driver that drove his bus into a snow bank was later arrested for drunk driving. Police determined that Steven Sauer, 59, had a blood alcohol level of 0.27% at the time of the crash, more than 3-times the legal limit. Thankfully, the incident occurred on his way to pick up children, and no kids were involved in the accident. He was later fired. (USA Today, 2-21-2011, p. 4A)
The Wheels on the Bus … Are Coming Off
In Racine, Wisconsin, two tires dislodged from a moving school bus and flew into oncoming traffic, where one struck a pickup truck and killed its 23-year-old driver. The bus was being used off duty to carry college students back to the Chicago area after a day at a ski resort. (USA Today, 2-21-2011, p. 4A)
School Busses Collide
In Knoxville, Tennessee, two children and one adult were killed and more than 20 were injured after two school busses collide. Witnesses ran to the accident scene to help children off the buses, one of which was on its side. The children on the buses were reportedly from an intermediate school and a primary school. There was no immediate word on what caused the crash.
Shawn O’Neill, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, told FoxNews.com that light rain had been falling throughout the day in the Knoxville area, and there was light fog and mist as well. (December 3, 2014)
Fatal School Bus Crash
In Rochester, New York, a bus driver was killed & several students injured when two school busses collided On Rochester’s northeast side. It’s suspected the crash may have been the result of a medical issue involving one of the drivers, possibly a heart attack. (Jan. 7, 2015)
Boy Jumps From moving School Bus
In Arizona, a 10-year-old boy was left fighting for his life after jumping out the back of a moving school bus. Officials were not sure what caused the special needs student to run to the back of the bus, Open the door, and jump out. The bus was traveling about 15 to 20 miles per hour at the time; an example of how a vehicle doesn’t need to be traveling fast in order to cause serious injury. (3/5/2015)
School Bus Collides With Semi-Truck in Fiery Crash
In March of 2024, a small school bus was transporting preschool-age children when it suddenly crossed into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a tractor-trailer semi truck. The collision caused the school bus to erupt in flames. Both the driver of the semi-truck and the school bus were killed, along with all 3 preschoolers riding on the bus. Police were looking into why the bus might have swerved into oncoming traffic. (ABC World News, March 11, 2024)
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In Millas, an area of southern France, a school bus collided with a regional train on Thursday, December 14, 2017, killing 4 children and critically injuring 11 other passengers on the bus.
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In a Baltimore school bus crash that killed 6 adults, the driver had a history of seizures and had been involved in at leas 12 crashed in the previous 5 years.¹
References:
1.USA Today editorial, “Chattanooga crash exposes gaps in school bus safety” Dec 8, 2016 page 7A