SOUTHPORT — A box truck hit the rear end of a school bus as it was dropping off an elementary school child at 2 p.m. Thursday on County 388 near Winterhill Road in northern Bay County.
The bus driver had displayed stop signs and signals and was coming to a stop to drop off 7-year-old Bozeman Elementary School first grader Leland Sunday, the only child for that stop. An Ensec Environmental Security Isuzu box truck applied the brakes and veered right but hit the back right portion of the bus. Two children, both around 11 years old, were transported by Bay County Emergency Medical Services to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System. Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Logan Richardson, who was investigating the collision, said the children had non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the box truck was also transported to Bay Medical. Richardson said the driver’s injuries also were non-life-threatening and specified the male driver was complaining of a leg injury. Bobby Rodgers, father of Sunday who was waiting at the stop, and Jeremy Boutwell, removed the box truck driver from the vehicle.
There were 100 feet of skid marks at the scene. The driver of the box truck told Richardson his brakes failed, but the investigation is continuing.
Richardson said about 30 children were on the bus. Soon after the accident Bay School District officials began calling parents. Many of the children were transported in a different bus to another stop.
Bay District Schools Safety Officer Deborah Mount was investigating the accident for the school system. She said the female driver of the bus is, by district policy, subject to a mandatory drug test after the accident. The school bus driver had been driving since 2003. Mount said she had investigated one previous crash involving this school bus driver and that neither accident was her fault.
“She’s a very good driver,” Bay District Schools Director of Transportation Bob Downin said. “We’ve had no complaints about her.”
Richardson would not release the names of those involved in the crash and FHP’s written report had not been released as of early Thursday night.