SCHOOL BUS CRASH
REPORTS 2007
Burlington: 2 Injured, School Bus
Driver Charged in Crash
April 5, 2007
BRISTOL - Two people, including a
16-year-old student, sustained minor injuries Tuesday afternoon when a
school bus collided with a car at Farmington and Mercier avenues, said
traffic Lt. Kevin Morrell.
The driver of the school bus was ticketed
for a stop-sign violation, he said.
Police closed the east- and westbound
lanes closest to the double yellow lines for about 30 minutes, allowing
traffic to continue in the outermost lanes in each direction.
Both the 16-year-old, who complained of
neck pain, and the 18-year-old driver of the car, who complained of
right-side pain, were taken by ambulance to Bristol Hospital where they
were treated and released, according to the police report.
Morrell said the accident occurred at
1:03 p.m. when the driver of the 17-passenger First Student Bus Co.
school bus, Rita Huntley, 50, of 17 Upson St., was going southbound on
Mercier Avenue and attempted to turn right onto Route 6. The bus
collided with a 1997 Dodge Neon driven by Chelsey Belanger, 18, of 260
South St., Plymouth, traveling westbound on Farmington Avenue.
Belanger was the sole occupant of her
vehicle, while Huntley had two passengers, 13- and 16-year-old boys.
Though that stretch of Farmington Avenue
has two travel lanes in each direction, the momentum of the vehicles
colliding pushed Belanger's vehicle from the far right westbound lane
into the eastbound lane closest to the double yellow lines, said
Morrell.
The bus struck the front passenger side
of the Dodge, causing extensive front-end damage to the smaller vehicle,
requiring it be towed from the scene, Morrell said. The school bus
sustained only minimal front-end damage.
Anytime a passenger on a school bus
involved in an accident is injured, police are required to notify the
state Department of Motor Vehicles so an official from that agency can
inspect the bus, Morrell said.
Officials at the city's Board of
Education and First Student are also notified, said Morrell.
Personnel from both were quick to respond
to the accident scene, and a Board of Education official drove the
uninjured 13-year-old boy home.
Police said they were not sure what
school the students attended.
Morrell said police concluded the
accident investigation Tuesday afternoon, and Huntley was issued a $124
"stop sign violation" ticket.
Officials at First Student could not be
reached for comment Wednesday.
ŠThe Bristol Press 2007
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Crash Reports 2007
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