Taxi hits Minn. school bus; several children hurt

Published 1:15 pm Monday, May 16, 2011

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — A taxi and bus taking students to an elementary school collided on Monday, sending the bus veering into a nearby building and injuring several children and both drivers.

Three children from the bus, two from the taxi and both drivers are being treated for injuries at St. Cloud Hospital, said St. Cloud police Sgt. Martin Sayre. Both the bus and the taxi were taking students to Talahi Elementary School. The injuries are bumps and bruises; there were no broken bones or life-threatening injuries, he said. Others are being treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The bus, which was carrying about 15 children, had the right of way. The two vehicles collided at about 7:30 a.m. after the taxi, taking two children to school, failed to pull up at a stop sign and drove into an intersection in the bus’s path, according to police. The collision sent the bus over a set of railroad tracks and into the building about 50 yards west.

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Donald Fleming, the 57-year-old cab driver, was cited for failing to stop for a stop sign, according to a police report.

The three people who were in the duplex escaped injury. They are removing personal items, and a tow truck will soon remove the bus from the building. A St. Cloud Housing Inspection officer was at the scene trying to determine the building’s structural integrity. Police are concerned the structure could collapse once the bus is pulled out.

The portion of the street that runs in front of the duplex was closed at 8 a.m.