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School Bus Wreck Injures 12

Apr 14, 2008 | Pete DeLea | The Daily News Record

A school bus carrying members of a McLean youth group flipped on Warm Springs Pike just outside Bridgewater Saturday afternoon, injuring several children - including at least two seriously - and flinging a mattress, musical instruments, sleeping bags, clothing and a small refrigerator all over the roadway.

All 12 people on the bus - 10 children and two adults - were injured, police said. The children are between the ages of 8 and 17, Sgt. F.L. Tyler, spokesman for the state police, said.

Investigators have only released the name of the driver, Mark McCoy of Manassas Park.

Trooper D.J. Bowman of the Virginia State Police issued McCoy, 26, a ticket for reckless driving, according to Tyler.

Neither McCoy's condition, nor those of the other passengers, had been released as of press time Sunday night.

The small school bus came to a rest in a ditch facing south near the intersection of Warm Springs Pike and Gardner Lane. Chunks of dirt and grass were lodged in the bus's wheels and door.

"It was a bit chaotic," said Aaron Rayoum of Pittsburgh, Pa., who drove up on the wreck before emergency personnel were on the scene.

He said he jumped out of his car to help, removing some of the items from the bus so the children could get out.

"The kids were devastated," he said. "They were crying and bleeding."

A young man who was in the bus and who had blood running down his face was too shaken to give his name, but he said the bus was carrying 12 people from a youth group from McLean Bible Church in McLean.

He said the bus driver lost control and swerved before the vehicle flipped over. Police have yet to release any official word on the cause of the crash, although Tyler said it was clear that the bus ran off the road before overturning. 

Bus Overturned

At about 1:30 p.m., emergency personnel from several rescue and fire agencies responded to the single-vehicle wreck on Va. 42, about one-tenth of a mile north of Gardner Lane.

Two helicopters landed in a nearby dairy farm and flew two children to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Tyler said. Ten other victims were taken to Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg.

Bridgewater Fire Chief J.R. Humes said when firefighters first arrived at the scene they determined it to be a "mass causality" incident and requested additional rescue crews with ambulances to respond. He said three fire departments and three rescue squads helped out at the scene.

"Anytime you have an incident like this, especially dealing with kids, it's difficult," said Humes.

Crowds Gather

Ricky Cupp, 49, of Churchville, was in Mount Solon when he saw emergency vehicles with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. He said he decided to follow them to see what was going on.

When he got to the scene, a couple of passengers were still in the bus. He stood on the side of the road opposite the bus and watched responders work.

"I more or less just walked down here to see what was going on," said Cupp. "I was just kind of curious about what was going on. I didn't know it was going to be this. This is the first time I've seen a school bus accident."

Cupp said he talked to a passenger from the bus who had minor injuries.

"He came up and said he was in it," said Cupp. "You could see the blood on his arm."

Kevin Craun, who owns the 400-acre dairy farm near where the bus went off the road, said he came down to the scene after his wife, who was in town, called him and told him she heard the road near their farm was blocked off.

The bus took down a section of Craun's fence. He said vehicles usually crash into his fence about twice a year. Responders also cut a piece of his fence to access the landing area for the helicopters, which set down on his property.

"If you have any fence on the road, you can pretty much count on it getting run over," said Craun.