Burlington, New Jersey, stood witness to a school bus collision involving a car that caused seven elementary students and one adult to be injured on Tuesday morning, May 15, 2013.
This picture from the accident, courtesy of courierpostonline.com, shows that the front part of the white Toyota Camry was crushed badly while the right part of the bus remained fairly intact.
According to police, the accident took place around 8:15 a.m. when a school bus moving kids from the Fountain Woods Elementary School ran into a Toyota Camry at the intersection of Salem Drive and Cynwyd Drive. Philly.com recounts that the bus was trying to turn left onto Salem Drive from Cynwyd Drive while the car was making its way to the north of Salem Drive. The police mentioned that the intersection was not thought to be a dangerous area and that there is a stop sign at Cynwyd Drive. No charges were filed on Tuesday morning.
The seven students with minor injuries were brought to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington and Virtua Memorial for treatment. The adult, who was confirmed to be the man driving the car, needed to be hospitalized at Lourdes Specialty Hospital for his serious injuries. His name has not yet been released by the police.
Burlington Township Superintendent Christopher Manno said that eight of the fifteen students who were riding in the bus didn’t suffer any injuries. All were taken back to their elementary school to be checked by the school nurse before being released to their parents. The students were from grades three through five.
The school district alerted all of the parents via email and also assigned administration staff to the scene of the accident and hospitals.
Officials from the school gave a statement regarding the issue of safety belts in the bus. They said that school regulations always dictate that students wear seat belts whenever they are in the bus. However, they didn’t know if all of the students had obeyed the rule at the time of the accident.
The cause of the collision is yet unknown. The school district is investigating this event together with the Burlington Township Police Department. Police Director Kevin A. Shoppas said that new information regarding the accident will be released later in the afternoon.
There have been approximately ten school bus crashes reported in May alone in the U.S., and May 15 marks the highest number of school-bus-related accidents in the month so far – with three crashes in New Jersey, New Orleans, and Florida.