DeKalb school bus crashes into ditch, 19-20 students taken to hospital for evaluation
DeKalb school bus crashes into ditch, 19-20 students taken to hospital for evaluation
The incident happened Wednesday morning.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County school bus crashed into a ditch Wednesday morning after being struck by an oncoming driver, officials said, and 19-20 students were taken to hospitals for evaluation.
A school district spokesperson there were no reports of anyone who’d been trapped or seriously injured.
Raymond Stanley, the executive director for the district’s transportation, said the bus was bound for Salem Middle School and that the kids on board the bus were students at the middle school.
He said the students taken to hospitals were transported “for precautionary measures.” Some parents who came to the scene also took their kids to get medical attention on their own.
There were about 25 students in all on the bus at the time of the crash, Stanley said.
Stanley described the crash “involving an oncoming passenger vehicle.” A district statement said the oncoming vehicle struck the bus and caused it to swerve into the ditch.
A mom on scene said her daughter was on the bus when the crash happened and that her daughter described the bus having to veer off the road to avoid a drunk driver coming head on. Police have not yet confirmed details about what led to the crash.
Stanley said they were “very very fortunate” not to have had major injuries.
He was asked by reporters if the driver handled the situation correctly and he responded that she did. He described her as a “veteran driver that we’ve had on our staff for quite a while.”
The crash occurred at the 4200 block of River Road. 11Alive Photojournalist Jefferson Cochran went to the scene, where photos showed the bus appeared to have struck a poll head-on and then titled over.
The mom, Jalisa Bradley, told reporters he daughter had hit her face and head to the windows when the crash happened, and that she had black eyes.
“My daughter was so scared, so shaken up, you could hear the bus driver just scared trying to gather all the kids,” Bradley said.
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
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