Springfield School District bus driver crashes into home after cutting hand

No students were on board.

October 14, 2010|by Maria Neider, KY3 News | MNeider@ky3.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The driver of a school bus crashed into a power pole guy wire and drove through a fence and into the side of a brick house around 9:10 Thursday morning. No students were on the bus when it crashed near Chestnut Expressway at Oak Grove Avenue.

The driver was conscious when an ambulance took him to a hospital. Springfield Police Lt. Faye Barksdale says the driver told paramedics that he reached under his seat to adjust it, cut his hand, saw the blood, and passed out, causing the crash. A piece of fence shot through the windshield and barely missed him.

City Utilities of Springfield said the crash caused 1,300 power outages in a several-block area. By 11:15, CU said, only 100 customers remained without electric service. The Springfield School District says Bingham Elementary, on Cherry Street at Barnes Avenue, and Fremont Elementary, on Fremont Avenue near Interstate 44, both lost power.

Traffic was blocked on Chestnut between Barnes and Cedarbrook avenues near the crash and traffic lights were out in the area. CU said the bus snapped one pole, and its weight threatened to pull down five other poles in the area. In the afternoon, CU said it likely would take crews into the evening to fix the damage and undo the remaining 100 outages. It rerouted electricity to the other 1,200 customers from other directions.

The bus was headed east on Chestnut when the driver veered into the center median and across the westbound lane. The bus came to a stop when it hit the side of a house. The home was occupied at the time. Police found no skid marks. One resident said he heard a crashing noise and came out of his house and found the wreckage.

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