WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – An elementary school bus carrying 30 children overturned after the driver lost control in Washtenaw County.
The incident occurred on Thursday (Jan. 23) at 4:13 p.m. in the 9700 block of Talladay Road in Augusta Township.
A preliminary investigation showed that the Lincoln Elementary School bus had just completed a stop to drop off a student and had begun traveling eastbound when it began to slide on the ice.
“We were told that he was doing approximately 10 miles per hour, and due to the ice, he just slid off the road,” said Augusta Township Fire Chief Dave Music.
The vehicle was completely on its passenger side. We’re just blessed that there were no major injuries.
Officials said the driver lost control of the bus, which slid off the north side of the road and overturned.
“We arrived on the scene, and the children were already off the bus and in a safe position. The bus driver was still trapped due to the seatbelt being on the side of a bigger gentleman. We got him out, and he walked off the bus.”
Augusta Township Fire Chief Dave Music
The children were evacuated from the bus and were evaluated by the Augusta Township Fire Department and Huron Valley Ambulances for injuries.
All the children were cleared and turned over to guardians on the scene.
“We had approximately 10 to 12 children with minor injuries. They were all self-transported by their parents. The worst was probably the one who had a broken nose. They had split lips and bumps and bruises. The school bus driver was transported to the hospital.”
Augusta Township Fire Chief Dave Music
The school bus driver was transported to the hospital to be further evaluated for minor injuries.
The traffic crash investigation is ongoing.
Augusta Township Fire Chief Dave Music describes the school bus crash in a press conference below
