HESPERIA: No injuries reported after car plows into back of school bus
HESPERIA — A car plowed into the rear of a school bus in front of shocked parents who were dropping off their children at Hesperia Junior High School, Friday morning, Aug. 18.
Hesperia Junior High School’s principle, Lisa Kelly, responds to news that two of her students were on board the bus when it was struck. Loudlabs News photo
The accident, which was reported about 8:30 a.m., happened on Willow Street, directly in front of the school, where the posted speed limit is 25 mph and there are at least two caution signs warning of pedestrian crossing.
Another school, Cypress School of the Arts, is located immediately to the north of the junior high school.
There were four students on the bus at the time of the accident, including two Hesperia Junior High students, according to a CHP incident report. There were no reported injuries.
When emergency first responders arrived, they found a white Kia Optima wedged under the rear of a bus. A tow truck was used to un-wedge the car and pull it out from under the bus before it was towed from the scene.
School administrators, including Hesperia Junior High School’s principle Lisa Kelly, responded to the scene to check on her students and inspect the bus for damage, which was described as “very minor.” The car sustained moderate front-end damage in the collision.
California Highway Patrol officers from the department’s Victorville office responded to the scene and conducted an accident investigation, during which they determined the school bus had been stopped in the eastbound lane of Willow Street, with its left turn signal on, while waiting to turn left into the school’s parking area, according to CHP.
“For reasons still under investigation, the driver of the Kia failed to notice the stopped school bus and the front portion of the Kia rear-ended the school bus,” the incident report indicated.
Lynn Shobert, the 43-year-old driver of the Kia, was not injured in the collision.
Neither alcohol nor drugs were considered to be contributing factors in the collision, which is still under investigation.
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 13 – soon to be 14 – grandchildren.