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SCHOOL BUS CRASH REPORTS 1999Inquiry Into
Bus
Crash Continues Investigators spent Thursday sorting out events leading to a wreck on Interstate 630 in downtown Little Rock that sent nearly three dozen middle-school students to the hospital Wednesday. More than 30 students were taken to Arkansas Children's Hospital after the crash that happened shortly after 4 p.m. Two were hospitalized overnight, while most of the Pulaski Heights Middle School students were released after being treated for cuts and abrasions. Some students were taken to the hospital as a precaution. A preliminary report filed by Arkansas State Police Trooper Mike Dawson said Roy L. Dollarhide was driving a tractor-trailer rig east on I-630 in the right-hand lane near the Cumberland Street exit when he "was unable to stop in time for traffic." Dawson wrote that Dollarhide swerved left, causing his truck to begin to jackknife. The truck sideswiped a Ford pickup driven by Michael R. McCain and passed in front of the school bus, being driven by Forrest H. Cole. The tractor-trailer rig and the bus collided and crashed into the median wall beside the left lane. On Thursday, Dawson said he didn't know why the traffic caused Dollarhide to stop suddenly. Brad Montgomery, branch manager for Laidlaw Educational Services -- the company that provides transportation services to the Little Rock School District -- said he expects the company to finish its own review today. Montgomery said officials are waiting for the state police report to help reconcile differing accounts, such as how many children were on the bus and how many were hospitalized overnight. Initial reports indicated that 35 children were on the bus and that 33 were sent to the hospital. The bus sustained damage to its front and right side where it collided with the tractor-trailer rig, and damage on its left side from where it struck the median wall, Montgomery said. Bobby Jones, director of safety and security for the Little Rock School District, said he will meet with Laidlaw officials once the state police complete their report. "But from first appearances, there doesn't appear to be any violations on the [bus] driver's part," Jones said. While the bus was in the left lane, it wasn't speeding, he said. "Our main concern was for the kids from the district," Jones said. Officials initially reported that three children were admitted to Children's Hospital after the accident, but a hospital spokesman said Thursday that only two were admitted. Virgil Taylor and Shannon Britt were both released from the hospital Thursday. Their ages and addresses were unavailable. A state trooper who was in the vicinity at the time of the accident, along with several teachers and district employees who saw the accident and stopped to help, directed children to a safe place away from traffic after the youths exited the bus through emergency doors, Jones said. Cole, the bus driver, was taken to University Hospital. He was treated for cuts, bruises and a possible pelvic injury and later was released. Dollarhide was taken to Baptist Medical Center. He was released early Thursday, a hospital spokesman said. The trailer being pulled by Dollarhide contained soiled linens from the Baptist Health Systems. This article was published
on Friday, October 15, 1999
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