6 taken to hospital after vehicle rear ends Southland bus
Published 11:01 am Monday, February 1, 2016
Six Southland School District students were taken to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin Monday morning for head bumps and neck pain after a vehicle rear ended a school bus around 7:45 a.m.
Southland Elementary School Principal Brian Schoen confirmed the vehicle hit the bus, which was carrying about 35 students, as it was turning off of 670th Avenue — or County Road 7 — into a driveway on the 16000 block.
Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi said the bus had its stop arm out when the bus was struck, and the driver could face charges. A boy had just gotten on the bus when it was hit, but he was already sitting down, according to Amazi.
The six students were taken to the Austin medical center by ambulance after complaining of neck pain and bumps to the head. As of noon Monday, most of the children had gone home, but a few were still getting X-rays, according to Schoen.
The remaining students were taken to the Adams Fire Hall to be checked over as a precaution. Southland left it up to parents to decide whether the students attended the remainder of the school day or went home.
The driver of the vehicle also was taken to the hospital. Schoen said the back bumper of the bus was damaged, but it didn’t appear that the bus was badly damaged.
This morning’s fog did factor into the crash, according to Schoen and Amazi.