SCHOOL BUS CRASH REPORTS 2007

Five Injured in School Bus Accident
April 30, 2007

Five Alexander County students suffered minor injuries Monday when the school bus they were riding in collided with a minivan.

A 2005 Nissan minivan driven by Shirley Teague Barnes traveled through the intersection of N.C. 127 and DG Echerd Road about 7:45 a.m. and was hit by the school bus, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Tim Tarleton.

The bus was headed to West Middle School.

Barnes had stopped briefly at the intersection before pulling out in front of the bus, Tarleton said. The morning sun was shining in her face, and she said she couldn't see the bus because of the glare, Tarleton said.

After striking the minivan, the bus ran off the left side of the road and struck a ditch and a utility pole, Tarleton said. Five students on the bus were taken to Frye Regional Medical Center, were treated for minor injuries and released. Parents took some other students with no apparent injuries to a local doctor's office to be checked out.

Barnes, 61, of the Ellendale community in Alexander County, was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, where she was treated and released Monday.

The driver of a second bus picked up the other students and took them to West Middle.

Tarleton said that a charge of failing to yield the right of way was pending against Barnes.

back to Crash Reports 2007

top