BRADENTON, FL - What led up to the school bus crash that sent 23 Braden River Middle School students to the hospital Thursday, and what lessons can come from it?
The Manatee County School District spent much of Friday investigating the crash in which a school bus rear-ended a semi-truck on State Road 64 just west of I-75 in Bradenton.
Manatee County School Superintendent Tim McGonigal expressed gratitude that even though a bus with 26 students aboard slammed into the back of a stopped semi-truck at more than 30 mph, no students suffered serious injuries and they are all out of the hospital.
The school district released video from the school bus's on-board camera Friday. The students saw it coming, but the driver never did. The school district says he was distracted when he passed a piece of paper called a Courtesy Form back to a student. The forms are used to collect information about students behaving badly on school buses.
Florida Highway Patrol says that there was no sign of braking and no skid marks on State Road 64 where the accident happened. FHP cited the driver, Charles Orr, 68 for careless driving. "He was very remorseful," McGonegal says.
Orr will no longer drive buses in the county. McGonegal says that because Orr was only a part-time driver, there's no due process involved in his termination. He had no previous problems with the district or points on his license prior to this incident.
The crash crushed the bus's front end and the brake pedal would not reach the floor properly. The emergency brake and the ignition switch were between the driver's legs, which were pinned beneath the steering wheel, so he could not reach either of them and the bus kept rolling for another quarter-mile, according to FHP.
The video shows the panic that ensues after one student began yelling that fuel was leaking, though it was not. Students started to scramble out of the emergency exit windows while the bus was still moving. Most of the injuries came when students jumped from the bus, but McGonigal does not blame them. “I was on a bus and I thought there was fuel, I'd be getting off the bus.”
Braden River Middle School had counselors at the school Friday and will again on Monday. McGonegal says the district will pay for all the students' medical bills and asks parents of children on the bus to contact them for details.
The school district will analyze the video more to see how it can better train drivers -- and students -- to react to accidents. Though they have drills to practice now, mandated by the state, they had not prepared for this kind of crash.
"Training is currently with bus parked at school," says Transportation Director Don Ross. "We will definitely add the part about moving."
