Fleeing school bus crash, man, 87, arrested after second collision that killed girl, 9, & injured three other children

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif., — Authorities today confirmed that an 87-year-old man who struck four young school children after attempting to flee the scene of a non-injury crash involving an occupied school bus has been arrested.

Yesterday’s hit and run and subsequent fatal crash, which left a 9-year-old girl dead at the scene and three other children under the age of 12 injured, happened in the area of Corkill and Aurora roads in Desert Hot Springs, according to officials.

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California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Cal Fire – Riverside, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 3:50 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls regarding the back-to-back crashes.

When officials arrived they found a chaotic scene with four elementary-age school children down on the dirt shoulder and in the roadway. A white Cadillac with major front-end damage occupied by an elderly male was found stopped on the side of Corkill Road some distance away.

Despite life-saving efforts, one of the young victims succumbed to her injuries and passed away at the scene.

The Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office has since identified 9-year-old Monica Gonzalez Guzman, of Desert Hot Springs, as the girl killed in the crash. A Coroner’s release indicated she was pronounced deceased at 4:11 p.m.

In addition to the girl killed in the second crash, an 8-year-old boy suffered major injuries and remains hospitalized. Additionally, an 11-year-old girl was also hospitalized with moderate injuries and a 12-year-old girl who suffered minor injuries was treated at the scene and released to her parents.

The children were all headed home from Julius Corsini Elementary in Desert Hot Springs and had just been dropped off at the location by their own bus when they were struck.

A Cal Fire official is seen talking to an 87-year-old man who was later arrested for vehicular manslaughter and hit and run resulting in death. KESQ News Channel 3 photo

During their subsequent investigation, CHP learned the involved driver, Robert William Hanson, had been traveling southbound on Corkill Road in a 1994 white Cadillac when he was involved in a minor, rear-end collision involving a school bus.

The driver of the bus and two juvenile passengers from nearby Rancho Mirage High School were uninjured in the initial crash, CHP has since reported.

“After this crash, the driver of the white Cadillac continued to travel on Corkill Road, southbound, and allowed his vehicle to travel onto the right dirt shoulder,” CHP continued; saying, “The vehicle struck a speed limit sign and four juvenile pedestrians that were walking on the shoulder.”

Based on their investigation, officers arrested Hanson and he was later booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and hit and run resulting in death. Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $75,000 and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Indio Larson Justice Center on Dec 14.

Palm Springs Unified School District’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Mike Swize, told KESQ News Channel 3 on Friday that a team of district employees has already met to discuss plans to offer support to students and staff at the children’s school.

“The response comes in the wake of Thursday’s tragedy, which has left students, their families, and others shaken,” Swize told KESQ; adding, “As a district we are here to support all of our families.”

“It is overwhelming to hear and process this kind of tragic news,” Swize later wrote in a prepared statement after the tragic incident. “We want our families and staff to know that we are here for them to provide any supports they need now or in the coming days and weeks ahead.”

“All of us at Palm Springs Unified extend our heartfelt condolences at this most difficult time,” he added.

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PSUSD has said the district will be sending out a communication to parents today to keep them informed regarding counseling and other resources that will be available to any families needing them.

CHP’s investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is urged to contact them at (760) 772-5300. Callers can refer to incident file number F39263021 and can remain anonymous.

PSUSD Statement:

PSUSD officials were contacted shortly before 4:30 p.m. this afternoon following a report of one of our buses being hit from behind. We later learned that the driver who hit that bus continued to drive and struck four local students who had been dropped off at their bus stop and were on their way home. We subsequently learned that one of the children was killed and two others sustained injuries and were transported to a local hospital.

“It is overwhelming to hear and process this kind of tragic news,” said Supt. of Schools Dr. Mike Swize. “We want our families and staff to know that we are here for them to provide any supports they need now or in the coming days and weeks ahead. All of us at Palm Springs Unified extend our heartfelt condolences at this most difficult time.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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 30 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 18 grandchildren.

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