No serious injuries in Kane school bus accident
By Steve Lord slord@stmedianetwork.com January 27, 2012 9:14AM
Nine students and a bus driver were injured Friday morning when a school bus was involved in a crash in west suburban Kane County. | Courtesy NBC5
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Updated: January 29, 2012 2:33AM
BIG ROCK — There were no serious injuries Friday morning as a bus carrying a group of special needs students left the roadway and tipped over onto its side.
All nine students, one adult aide and the bus driver were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, the Kane County sheriff’s office said.
The students, mostly from the Sandwich area, were being transported to the Krejci Academy in Naperville, part of the Little Friends organization. Six of the students on the bus are special needs, police said.
“We’re extremely grateful that all our children are fine,” said Kristi Landorf at Little Friends, who said the agency sent staff to the hospital to support children and families. “Some students were even able to make it to school today. We’re just very, very grateful that it was not much worse.”
The crash took place on Granart Road near Mary Road just east of Big Rock as the students were on their way to school. The sheriff’s office closed Granart Road from Camp Dean Road in Sugar Grove to Rhodes Street in Big Rock for about three hours Friday morning.
Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler said the bus was traveling east on Granart Road when it left the roadway in an 55 mph area where the shoulder is small, and immediately slants into a ditch. It was not clear why the driver went off the road, Gengler said.
The driver seemed to try to correct the bus, but could not before its wheels went into the ditch, Gengler said. He said the bus tipped onto its side, but did not completely roll over.
All the children in the bus were wearing seat belts, which likely prevented worse injuries, Gengler said. It is a requirement of the owner of the bus, North American School Bus, that everyone in their buses wear seat belts, Gengler said.
The crash is still under investigation, but as of Friday no tickets had been issued, police said.
Gengler said the Big Rock Fire Department was on the scene quickly, helping get students unbelted and out of the bus. The department was aided by a number of citizens who were traveling along Granart Road and stopped when they saw the crash, he said.
The sheriff’s office said six students and the adult aide were taken to Delnor Hospital in Geneva by a Hinckley-Big Rock School District bus, and the other three students and the bus driver were taken by ambulance to Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora. None of the children required an overnight stay at the hospital, Gengler said.
Police did not release the identity of the driver or any of the children.
Chris Lanning, regional safety director for North American School Bus, was on the scene of the crash Friday morning, declined to comment on specifics about the bus or the driver. He said his company is cooperating with police and will conduct an internal investigation. North American School Bus contracts with multiple districts to transport school children.
Krejci Academy serves about 130 students, ages 4 to 21, who have autism or other emotional, behavioral or developmental disabilities, according to its website. Students are referred to Krejci Academy by their home school district.
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