HEMET: No injuries after bus carrying 4th graders to Ramona Pageant rear-ended

HEMET — A busload of 4th grade students from an area elementary school being transported to Hemet’s Ramona Pageant this morning were delayed more than an hour after a sedan plowed into one of several buses transporting them to the iconic and long-running outdoor play.

Although none of the students were injured and all students eventually went on to the outdoor play, the event was ultimately cancelled due to inclement weather. The field trip was reportedly the school’s last planned extra-curricular trip for the school year.

It was not immediately known if other arrangements had been made for the unfortunate students to still get to see the play at one of their future upcoming dates. The pageant, America’s longest running drama – was established in 1923 and continues through May.

City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the intersection of W. Stetson and S. Sanderson Avenues about 8:30 a.m., after receiving reports of the non-injury collision.

911 callers reported the bus was full of young students, including several special education students. The students were being transported from Fruitvale Elementary School to Hemet’s Ramona Bowl Amphitheater. Several school administrators and parent chaperones were also on the bus at the time of the crash.

When officials arrived they found a dark-colored sedan with major front-end damage that had rear-ended a full-size school bus. The bus did not appear to have sustained any visible damage and after being delayed about an hour the group continued on to their destination in the same vehicle.

Because the accident involved a school bus, CHP is handling the investigation, in accordance with state law. While officers investigated the collision, paramedics evaluated the bus occupants and other driver.

According to witnesses at the scene as well as parents who were on the bus at the time of the collision, the bus had been traveling southbound on Sanderson and had either stopped or was coming to a stop for the red light about two and a half miles from the school.

With just under four miles to go, the driver of the sedan reportedly failed to stop in time for the bus and smashed into the back of the large, brightly painted vehicle.

Andrea Cervantes of Vista later explained on social media she witnessed the wreck while driving through Hemet.

“(The) bus driver was taking pictures and (the) woman in (the) car who rear ended (the) school bus (was) pretty mad,” Cervantes explained.

One parent later reported the woman was more scared than anything, afraid she had possibly injured one of the students when the bus “unexpectedly braked” for the red light at Stetson.

After witnessing the accident, area resident Tara Taylor stopped to offer aid and comfort to the students inside the bus. “I was so worried about the kids,” Tara explained on social media. “But since they already had adults with them there wasn’t much I could do for them. I’m just so glad they were all ok!!”

Arrena Hoffman, a parent of one of the students who attends the school, reported getting a message from the school’s principal shortly after the accident. The message reportedly explained that none of the students, administrators or others on the bus were injured and would be continuing on to the pageant at the conclusion of CHP’s accident investigation.

Hemet resident Kimberly Potter, whose son attends Fruitvale, was on the bus as a chaperone when the bus was struck from behind.

“I was on the bus with my son,” Potter explained online. “The bus was sitting at the stop light when (the other driver) hit us.”

According to Potter, the accident “didn’t affect the bus at all. All we heard was a big boom.”

Potter described that in the moments following the crash, “The bus driver and school staff handled everything and made sure every child was safe.”

As for the driver of the vehicle that hit the bus, Potter said, “I could see her crying out (the) back window.” She was uninjured in the crash; however, her destroyed vehicle was later towed from the scene.

“We are thankful that no student was injured in the bus accident yesterday morning,” Hemet Unified School District spokesperson Alexandrea Sponheim said, expressing the School District’s gratitude and appreciation for the way the bus driver, administrators and parent chaperones handled the emergency.

“We would like to thank the staff members on the bus that made sure our students were safe,” Sponheim, continued. “We would ask the community to please use caution when students are in the area to ensure their safety and the safety of others.”

As of this report CHP has not yet released any information regarding the accident and their investigation into the crash is ongoing.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and 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 as well as 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries 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.