SCHOOL BUS CRASH REPORTS 2007

7 Students Injured in Accident
February 10, 2007

Blacksburg police are investigating a school bus crash that injured seven elementary school students and the driver of one car.

According to a press release from Lt. Bruce Bradbery of the Blacksburg Police Department, police were called to the 1300 block of South Main Street at about 3:30 p.m. Friday to investigate a two-vehicle collision.

Police found that a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was stopped at a red traffic light had been hit from behind by a 1999 Blue Bird school bus, Bradbery stated in the press release.

The bus, carrying 50 students and a driver, was with the Montgomery County public school system and had just left a near-by elementary school.

The driver of the bus claimed to have been distracted by his passengers and was unable to stop before colliding with the Jeep, according to the press release.

Blacksburg Rescue Squad transported seven passengers of the bus to Montgomery Regional Hospital with a variety of non-life threatening injuries. The students ranged in age from seven to 10 years old and were met at the hospital by parents, friends and relatives.

The driver of the Jeep, 24-year-old Rachel Whay-Re Muh, was also taken to the hospital with multiple minor injuries.

The Jeep was listed as a total loss, and the bus sustained an estimated $5,000 damage.

Police said the bus driver, 72-year-old Thomas Lee Hall of Christiansburg, has been charged with failure to maintain control of the vehicle. He is scheduled to appear in a Blacksburg court on March 7.

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