School bus carrying Columbia students involved in collision
No children were harmed, although car passengers were mildly injured.
Published Feb. 3, 2009
Two passenger vehicles and a school bus were involved collision Friday afternoon.
The bus was carrying about 30 to 35 students from John B. Lange Middle School and Oakland Junior High School around 3 p.m. A silver Toyota Sienna driven by Jessica Shirley hit the bus as it was preparing to drop off students at Brown Station on Sherwood. A grey Buick LeSabre driven by Callista Grace then hit the Sienna, according to a Columbia Fire Department news release.
The Columbia Fire Department was the first to arrive at the scene with two fire trucks and an ambulance, Fire Marshal Steven Sapp said.
No one was injured on the school bus. The only injuries were in the other two vehicles.
"The first thing that we initiated was patient care," Sapp said. "We knew that we had two people who had minor injuries. One appeared to have lacerations, and one patient was complaining of symptoms that would have led us to believe that they had a broken bone in one of their arms, but we can't diagnose that on the field."
Shirley reported having an injury to her left arm and a head contusion but refused to be transported by an ambulance. She was taken to a local hospital by a privately owned vehicle, the release stated.
There were two child passengers in the Toyota. Neither reported any injuries and left with a parent or guardian. Grace reported no injuries and refused treatment on the scene.
Emergency Medical Services personnel examined several of the students on the bus at the scene by before leaving with parents or guardians, the release stated.
The Sienna was towed away from the scene by the owner. The CFD cleaned up the oil spills from the vehicles involved in the accident before opening the scene up for investigation by the Columbia Police Department.
