Ohio school bus crash leaves one student dead, more than 20 injured
An elementary school bus crash in Clark County killed at least one student and injured nearly two dozen Tuesday morning.
The crash happened just before 8:15 a.m. on State Route 41 near the German Township fire station, according to reporting from Dayton Daily News and WHIO. The bus was from Northwestern Local Schools, whose classes began Tuesday. Clark County is west of Columbus.
Trooper Tyler Ross of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said there were 52 children and a driver on the bus at the time of the crash shortly.
He said an eastbound minivan went into the lane of the westbound bus, which veered onto the shoulder but was unable to avoid contact with the minivan and overturned. One student ejected from the bus was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.
Thirteen children were taken to hospitals by emergency medical personnel and 10 others were brought to hospitals by family members or other personal means. Of the 23 total injuries among those on the bus, 22 were described as non-life-threatening and one child was seriously injured and was taken to Children's Hospital.
The minivan driver and a passenger were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Several EMS units responded to the scene, and medical helicopters were put on standby to provide assistance. Additional assistance has also been requested from neighboring departments.
Dayton Children's Hospital officials noted they were treating patients from the crash.
"The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association has declared a mass casualty incident, per its protocol," according to a statement from the hospital. "Dayton Children's emergency department saw 22 children from this accident. Some came by ambulance, and some were brought by their parents."
Northwestern Local Schools posted on Facebook later in the day "...The bus accident this morning claimed the life of one of our elementary students. We will not have classes tomorrow. We will have grief counselors available for anyone who needs additional support during this tragedy. The Elementary and the Jr/Sr High will open at 8am for students, staff, and community members who need assistance and want to talk to a mental health specialist. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families that have been impacted by this tragedy."
Ohio State Highway Patrol announced it would investigate the crash. The patrol also named the drivers in the crash: school bus driver Alfred Collier, 68, of Springfield, and Hermanio Joseph, 35, of Springfield.
-The Associated Press contributed to this report.
tmoorman@dispatch.com
@taijuannichole
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Northwestern elementary school bus crash leaves 1 student dead in Ohio
