Student, driver taken to hospital after school bus crashes into carport, officials say
A bus driver had a close call after driving off the road Monday afternoon in Lancaster County.
Officials said the bus driver hit a carport just feet away from a home in Heath Springs.
District officials told Channel 9′s Tina Terry that one student, as well as the bus driver, were taken to an area hospital following the collision.
They believe the bus driver had some sort of medical issue before the crash.
Susan Newton said she was sitting on her couch watching a Christmas movie when the school bus veered off Baskins Hill Road and crashed into her carport.
“Came out and there was the school bus. Kids got out and were standing in the front yard,” Newton said.
Newton, a veteran emergency room nurse, said that’s when she hopped into action. “I checked his pulse and his respiration,” Newton told Channel 9.
She said when she checked on the driver he was unresponsive.
School officials said one student aboard the bus was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
“She fell out of the seat when the bus had impact,” Bryan Vaughn with Lancaster County Schools told Channel 9. “We had a call in to a parent this morning but we haven’t heard back on her condition.”
District officials said the bus was carrying students from Andrew Jackson High School and Andrew Jackson Middle School.
They said they are investigating the crash by reviewing video from the bus, as well as speaking with witnesses.
“We think this was a spontaneous event,” Vaughn said. “We’re just very fortunate that he was able to bring the bus to a slow speed before he lost control of it.”
School officials told Channel 9 that the bus driver will have to undergo a health evaluation before he is allowed to drive a school bus again.
(WATCH BELOW: 8 students injured in school bus crash in Chesterfield County, officials say)
