An Overturned School Bus
A school bus transporting Maxwell High School students overturned on the corner of Seally Street and Wilten Avenue. The driver of the bus was trying to avoid hitting a car that passed a red light, and the bus overturned with 37 students inside. The driver suffered minor injuries to the face, and two students broke their arms.
Roger Peterson, Principal of Maxwell High School, said that the driver was not at fault. His reaction helped prevent any serious injuries. As soon as the bus overturned, the driver opened the door using the emergency handle and started evacuating the students one by one. He notified the police of the students that were injured.
“We teach our drivers to ensure the safety of the students first,” Peterson said. The driver, whose name is not being released at the moment due to an investigation, along with the two students are being treated at Belmont Hospital. The parents were notified as soon as possible by school officials.
According to John Pineda, who witnessed the accident, the school bus almost hit the car. “The bus wasn’t going that fast, but the other car was. If the bus had hit the car, those people inside would surely have been seriously injured, or worse,” Pineda said. Pineda also said that the driver of the school bus took precaution to turn where people weren’t walking. If he were to have made a right, rather than a left, he would have definitely hit people that were crossing the street.
Peterson issued a statement saying that the students who were inside the bus could miss school the next day to make sure they were okay, and relax with their family. According to Peterson, the police provided him with a list of students that were involved in the accident. Police are looking for the driver of the car that passed the red light. It was a white Honda Civic.
