Bus driver & 2 special needs students injured after car hits SJUSD bus
HEMET — An unlicensed and uninsured motorist driving an unregistered vehicle plowed into the side of a San Jacinto Unified School District bus carrying special needs students Thursday afternoon May 9. Yesterday’s minor-injury collision happened in the 700 block of E Fruitvale Ave., between Santa Fe and Buena Vista streets in Hemet.
The collision caused minor injuries to the bus driver and her two students, one of whom was transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment. According to witnesses at the scene, both the driver and second student also later went to the hospital via their own means for minor injuries and complaints of pain.
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City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments, along with AMR and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the two-vehicle collision around 4:20 p.m., after receiving reports of the crash.
When officials arrived they found the damaged and un-driveable school bus stopped in the roadway. A silver Nissan Maxima with moderate front-end damage was stopped about 100 yards further down Fruitvale.
A SJUSD school bus sustained moderate damage and its three occupants, including the driver and two special needs students, were hospitalized after an unlicensed and uninsured driver sideswiped the bus. Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
Fire and rescue personnel quickly determined there were three occupants on the bus, including the driver and two special needs students, ages 8 and 10, according to CHP Officer Darren Meyer. All three occupants from the damaged bus had complaints of pain and all three eventually ended up at area hospitals for further evaluation and treatment.
The uninjured driver of the Nissan, who has not been publicly identified, remained at the scene and was cooperative with officers conducting the collision investigation. While medics tended to the injured bus occupants, Hemet PD officers contacted the Nissan driver, who explained to them that he did not have a license or insurance, and was driving an unregistered vehicle.
The man told officers he was driving westbound on Fruitvale when his car suffered an unknown mechanical malfunction – possibly involving the vehicle’s rack and pinion steering – causing him to lose ability to steer his car, at which time his Nissan sideswiped the bus, “which had just came to a complete stop,” and activated its flashing stop lights and sign, Meyer explained. The impact caused moderate damage to both vehicles and left both inoperable.
The driver of a Nissan Maxima that sideswiped a SJUSD bus admitted to officers he was unlicensed, uninsured, and was driving an unregistered vehicle that he claimed suffered a mechanical malfunction, causing the minor injury collision. Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
Because the accident involved a school bus, CHP was summoned to the scene, as they handle all crashes and incidents involving California school buses.
As the investigation was getting underway, parents of the involved students who heard about the crash via social media raced to the scene to be with their children. One of those parents, a mother, was filmed by community reporters as she hurried toward paramedics evaluating her child. When the child saw his mother approaching he ran to and leapt into his mom’s arms and burst into tears. The boy continued crying inconsolably as his mother comforted and soothed him.
San Jacinto Unified administrators soon arrived at the scene to check on the students, bus driver, and damaged vehicle. They were observed comforting those involved in the collision, as well as photographing and documenting the accident scene.
Both vehicles were later towed from the area, and the driver who caused the collision was cited by CHP for a number of violations; including driving without a license, driving without insurance, and driving an unregistered vehicle. It was not immediately known if he was cited on or could be facing any other charges.
SEE SIMILAR: Bus dropping off children leads to Hat Creek 3 big-rig pileup
Yesterday’s crash came on the heels of another incident involving a California school bus in the Hat Creek area of Shasta County, after a bus dropping off children pulled to the side of SR-89 to drop off students and activated its red flashing stop lights and stop sign.
Three fully-loaded tractor-trailer combos traveling behind the bus were unable to stop in time, causing a chain-reaction collision between the three big-rigs on the winding, two-lane, mountain roadway. None of the students were directly affected or injured in that multiple vehicle crash.
None of the involved agencies or school district had responded to a request for further information and details regarding this collision as of this report.
CHP is investigating the crash and their investigation is active and ongoing.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta 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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.