Albemarle student, adult injured in bus accident
Published: May 29, 2009
Updated: May 29, 2009
An Albemarle County student and an adult were taken to area hospitals this morning with minor injuries after the bus they were in crashed in Madison County.
State Police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler described their injuries as non-life-threatening and said no one else was hurt.
According to Tyler, three charter buses were transporting 121 students and adults from Baker-Butler Elementary School in Charlottesville for a field trip to Washington, D.C.
Tyler, who said there was heavy fog in the area at the time of the accident, said the buses were northbound on U.S. 29 around 7:30 this morning.
As they approached the Route 734 intersection, Tyler said, the first bus stopped at the red light. A 2008 Chevrolet Express van stopped behind the first bus.
The second bus pulled into the right lane. Tyler said the third bus failed to stop in time, clipping the left rear of the second bus, then striking the van. About 30 students and 18 adults were on the third bus and eight people were in the van.
No one in the van was injured. The student was taken to Culpeper Regional Hospital and the unidentified adult to U.Va. Medical Center in Charlottesville.
State Police, about 10 Madison County sheriff’s deputies, 20 firefighters, the rescue squad and personnel from the county’s emergency services department responded to the scene. Officials from VDOT were also called to assist with traffic management.
Tyler said the large response was called out after initial reports incorrectly indicated that all three buses were involved in the crash.
Tyler said the driver of the third bus, Samuel H. Richard, 61, of Farmville, was cited by Trooper S.E. Nelson for following too closely. The buses are owned by Lynchburg Bus Service Inc.
Tyler and Madison Sheriff Erik Weaver expressed praise and appreciation for all the volunteers, saying the situation was handled smoothly and professionally.
“It’s a group effort and our (emergency response) program we have here worked well,” Weaver said.
Tyler said the D.C. trip was canceled. The uninjured students and adults were taken by Madison County school buses to the fire department, then returned home by school buses dispatched from Albemarle County.
A spokesman from Albemarle County Public Schools was not immediately available for comment.
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Reader Reactions
I am very grateful for the firefighters and the rescue squad personel that came on the scene. When they arrived, they had no idea how many were injured, and when you look at the buses, it was more than a fender bender…I was there as a chaperone, and the accident could have been worse and praise God that is wasn’t. I thank God for those who took precautionary measures to insure the safety of those who were involved and for acting so quickly to take myself and others to a place of safety. God bless you all who helped out.
Go back and count the number of people and vehicles forced to respond to this fender bender with two slight injuries. Cops and firemen (especially firemen) work really, really hard to inflate the official record of their workload. Never will they send out one vehicle when three will do. And they are so selective in what they can do that VDOT has to step in to direct traffic! Amazing. Of course they spin plausibility, claiming they were told three buses were involved.
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