No One Injured, But Bus Crash Rattles Students
A Rockbridge County school bus was involved in a two-vehicle accident on U.S. 11 just outside of downtown Lexington last Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 21, as children from Central Elementary School were being driven home.
No one was injured, Sgt. Shain Hartbarger with the Lexington Police reported.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. on the East Lexington bridge over the Maury River in the northbound lanes.
Hartbarger said a driver in a pickup truck pulled off of Campbell Lane, made a U-turn in the middle of the bridge and hit the front fender of the bus. The driver, who was not local, told police his GPS advised him to turn southbound on U.S. 11 and he didn’t see the bus coming.
The driver has not been identified, but Hartbarger said he was issued two citations, one for reckless driving.
The road was blocked for more than an hour while multiple emergency vehicles responded to the scene and another bus was brought in to take students home.
The crash left traffic snarled through downtown and parents worried as they waited for their kids to get home.
Hartbarger said that state police, EMS and local police responded quickly and all the children were assessed.
“The CES school administration and staff did an excellent job being on scene and assisting with what was certainly a frightening experience for some of our youngest students,” Rockbridge County Public Schools Superintendent Phillip Thompson said.
Several parents wrote on social media that they were not notified of the crash for a few hours after it happened and didn’t know where their children were.
Thompson said he was aware of the parents’ concerns but said that the division’s first responsibility is to make sure students and staff are safe.
“A couple of parents were upset that they saw it on social media from other drivers on the road before the school was able to notify them,” Thompson said. “Once we have time to assess the situation, we can better alert parents to what is truth and what is rumor.”
Thompson said CES Principal Kelly Jones called each parent individually once she knew all the students were safe. Some parents told The News-Gazette that they were informed by the school counselor.
Students were either taken home on a different bus or were picked up by their parents, Thompson said.
“We are grateful for the quick response of our first responders, the county garage employees, and our RCPS administrators,” Thompson said.
Hannah Brooks wrote on Facebook that two of her children were on the bus and shared pictures of the large emergency response.
“All the kids were very scared and crying, and there were pre-k kids on that bus,” Brooks wrote. “My older two were on it and I was scared to death. I’m glad it wasn’t worse.”
