Bus full of children, 1 driver rolls over in Burlington

A YMCA bus full of children and one driver rolled over in Burlington Wednesday afternoon, according to the Burlington Police Department.

Just before 4 p.m., the Washington State Patrol responded to the rollover accident at Chuckanut Drive and Interstate 5.

The WSP told us the bus was headed southbound on I-5 and was taking the exit to State Route 11.

Only minor injuries were reported.

Uninjured children were being transported to the Burlington-Edison High School to be reunited with their parents.

“Even though a scene can be chaotic with that many people involved in a bus in a collision reunifying them with their parents was very seamless and it was great to make sure they feel safe after a collision,” said WSP PIO Trooper Kelsey Harding.

Harding said the WSP is still investigating what led to the rollover.

“We got calls that the bus was on its side but at this point, we’re still investigating what caused the bus to go on its side,” said Harding. “It’s not like we can get identifications for kids they don’t carry driver’s licenses or identification cards so it makes the process a little bit difficult.”

Harding said due to the severity, the WSP called in its commercial vehicle enforcement officers.

“They come and do some checks on the bus and we want to make sure everything is in regulation and that nothing was wrong with the bus prior to the collision,” said Harding. “We also have our detectives and our collision technicians who are making sure and checking the schematics and doing math on like how this collision actually happened.”

The WSP said the road was closed for an extended period of time.

In a statement, a spokesperson for YMCA said:

We are aware of an incident regarding a bus carrying Y Kids Summer Day Camp students who were part of the Westview Elementary and Jefferson Elementary school-age programs today, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Y leadership is actively supporting children and families to reunify at this time, and we have notified all parents of the children involved in the incident.

Making sure all children and adults are safe in our programs is a top priority. We are working closely with the Burlington Police Department and Washington State Patrol, but do not have any further details about the circumstances at this time.